The Seven Pearls is a 1917 American silent action film serial directed by Louis J. Gasnier and Donald MacKenzie. Fragments are held by the Library of Congress.[1]
| The Seven Pearls | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Louis J. Gasnier Donald MacKenzie |
| Starring | Mollie King Creighton Hale |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Pathé Exchange |
Release date |
|
Running time | 15 episodes (2 reels each) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
Cast
edit- Mollie King as Ilma Bay
- Creighton Hale as Harry Drake
- Léon Bary as Perry Mason
- John J. Dunn as Grady
- Henry G. Sell as Handsome Jack
Chapter titles
edit- The Sultan's Necklace
- The Bowstring
- The Air Peril
- Amid the Clouds
- Between Fire and Water
- The Abandoned Mine
- The False Pearl
- The Man Trap
- The Message on the Wire
- The Hold-Up
- Gems of Jeopardy
- Buried Alive
- Over the Falls
- The Tower of Death
- The Seventh Pearl
Reception
editLike many American films of the time, The Seven Pearls was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. For example, the Chicago Board of Censors required, in Chapter 5, a cut of the scenes where an airman threw two bombs at an automobile and of the shooting of a man in a ship;[2] in Chapter 7, of the binding of the woman and man,[3] in Chapter 10, the intertitle "Have $100,000 in the safe, etc.", setting fire to the waste paper basket, the holdup of the bank watchman, and all scenes showing detail of the attempt of the bank robbery;[4] in Chapter 11, Reel 1, three scenes of the holdup of the young woman and her abduction, the pointing at woman's side as officer stops the machine, five holdup scenes in room, the holdup of the woman in the house, the binding of the woman, and Reel 2, the entire incident of the acid and candle burning nearby and the intertitle "It will not kill you – it will only spoil your beauty";[5] and, in Chapter 13, putting the bound and gagged young woman into a piano box;[6] in Chapter 14, two scenes of choking young woman, blow to man's head, throwing man in front of train;[7] in Chapter 15, the detailed method of a man fixing a gas bomb, drilling a safety deposit box, stealing pearls, and choking the young woman.[6]
References
edit- ^ "The Seven Pearls". The Progressive Silent Film List. silentera.com. Retrieved December 28, 2008.
- ^ "Official Cut-Outs by the Chicago Board of Censors". Exhibitors Herald. 5 (17). New York City: Exhibitors Herald Company: 33. October 20, 1917. (cuts in Chapter 5)
- ^ "Official Cut-Outs by the Chicago Board of Censors". Exhibitors Herald. 5 (20): 33. November 10, 1917. (cuts in Chapter 7)
- ^ "Official Cut-Outs by the Chicago Board of Censors". Exhibitors Herald. 5 (25): 31. December 15, 1917. (cuts in Chapter 10)
- ^ "Official Cut-Outs by the Chicago Board of Censors". Exhibitors Herald. 6 (1): 31. December 29, 1917. (cuts in Chapter 11)
- ^ a b "Official Cut-Outs by the Chicago Board of Censors". Exhibitors Herald. 6 (2): 31. January 5, 1918. (cuts in Chapters 13 and 15)
- ^ "Official Cut-Outs by the Chicago Board of Censors". Exhibitors Herald. 6 (3): 31. January 12, 1918. (cuts in Chapter 14)
External links
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