Black Oxen

{{Infobox film

| name = Black Oxen

| image = Black-oxen-1923.jpg

| alt =

| caption =

| director = Frank Lloyd

| producer = Frank Lloyd

| writer = Frank Lloyd
Mary O'Hara

| based_on = {{based on|Black Oxen|Gertrude Atherton}}

| starring = Corinne Griffith
Conway Tearle
Clara Bow

| music =

| cinematography = Norbert Brodine

| editing = Edward M. Roskam

| studio =

| distributor = Associated First National Pictures

| released = {{Film date|1923|12|29}}

| runtime = 80 minutes

| country = United States

| language = Silent (English intertitles)

| budget =

| gross =

}}

File:Black Oxen (1923).webm

Black Oxen is a 1923 American silent fantasy / romantic drama film starring Corinne Griffith, Conway Tearle, and Clara Bow. Directed by Frank Lloyd, the film is based on the controversial best-selling 1923 novel of the same name by Gertrude Atherton.{{cite book|last=Woodward|first=Kathleen |title=Figuring Age: Women, Bodies, Generations|year=1999|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=0-253-11384-9|page=96}}

Described as "subtle science fiction", the film takes its title from William Butler Yeats: "The years like great Black Oxen tread the world." It was produced by Frank Lloyd Productions and distributed by First National Pictures. A special Photoplay Edition of the novel was published by A. L. Burt Company, New York, illustrated with four stills from the film.See Project Gutenberg Ebook #25542, far below.

Plot

As described in a film magazine review,{{cite journal |last=Pardy |first=George T. |author-link= |title=Box Office Reviews: Black Oxen |journal=Exhibitors Trade Review |volume=15 |issue=8 |page=20 |publisher=Exhibitors Review Publishing Corporation |date=12 January 1924 |location=New York |url=https://archive.org/details/exhibit00newy/page/n549/mode/1up |accessdate=28 June 2022}} {{Source-attribution}} having submitted to a medical treatment which restores her youth and beauty using a rejuvenating glandular treatment and X-ray surgery, Madame Zatianny, formerly Mary Ogden of New York City, leaves Austria for the United States. Young playwright Lee Clavering meets the rejuvenated Mary and, taken by her perfect poise and serene beauty, falls in love with her. Janet Oglethorpe, an animated and precocious flapper, is also in love with Lee but he has not yet taken notice of her. Mary and Lee make plans to marry. One of Madame's former lovers, Prince Rohenhauer, arrives and convinces her of the folly of this match. In a final meeting, she makes a break with Clavering and returns to Austria. In the end, Lee discovers happiness with Janet as they ride away in a taxicab.

Cast

Image:xBlackOxen.jpg as Janet Oglethorpe, the flapper in Black Oxen, holding a copy of Flaming Youth. With Kate Lester and Tom Ricketts]]

{{Cast listing|

Corinne Griffith as Madame Zatianny / Mary Ogden
Conway Tearle as Lee Clavering
Clara Bow as Janet Oglethorpe
Tom Ricketts as Charles Dinwiddie
Carmelita Geraghty as Anna Goodrich
Tom Guise as Judge Gavin Trent
Alan Hale as Prince Rohenhauer
Kate Lester as Jane Oglethorpe
Harry Mestayer as James Oglethorpe
Claire McDowell as Agnes Trevor
Lincoln Stedman as Donnie Ferris
Ione Atkinson as Flapper
Mila Constantin as Flapper
Fred Gamble as Oglethorpe Butler
Otto Lederer as Austrian Advisor
Clarissa Selwynne as Gora Dwight
Eric Mayne as Chancellor
Otto Nelson as Dr. Steinach
Hortense O'Brien as Flapper
Wilhelm von Brincken as Aide to Prince Rohenhauer (uncredited)
Percy Williams as Ogden Butler

}}

Advertisement of the film

In 1923 motion picture industry magazine promotions,Screenland, Inc. Screenland, Oct. 1923.Brewster Publications, Inc. Motion Picture Magazine, Aug. 1923, pp. 76–76. Corinne Griffith was used to advertise the movie because she was a known star and considered one of the most beautiful actresses in cinema. Publications also used the W. B. Yeats couplet, "The years like Great Black Oxen tread the world // And God the herdsman goads them on behind." This is quoted on the title page of the novel in its first editionAtherton, Gertrude Franklin Horn, 1857-1948. Black Oxen. New York: Boni and Liveright, 1923.
[https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.$b248112?urlappend=%3Bseq=5 Title page] (4th printing, February 1923). Viewed at HathiTrust Digital Library. Retrieved 2019-09-05. and at the opening of the film.

Preservation

The George Eastman House retains a print of the film which is incomplete, comprising the first seven reels, but not the eighth. In 2010, it undertook restoration of the 35mm print, funded by The National Film Preservation Fund. The Gosfilmofond Russian State Archive also holds an incomplete copy, consisting of all reels with the exception of Reel 2. The New York Public Library has a 16mm print available in three film reels.{{cite book|url=http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/tBlack%20Oxen/tblack%20oxen/1,1,4,B/frameset&FF=tblack%20oxen&3,,4 |title=Black Oxen |first1=Gertrude Franklin Horn|last1=Atherton|first2=Melanie|last2=Dawson|date=January 1, 2012|publisher=Broadview Press|via=catalog.nypl.org Library Catalog}} A 60-minute version mastered by eBay retailer Buyers’ Gallery Video is available on DVD. No complete version of the film is currently commercially available.{{cite web|url=http://www.silentera.com/video/blackOxenHV.html|title=Silent Era : Home Video Reviews}}

Out of 58 films that star Corinne Griffith, Black Oxen is one of approximately ten that are available for viewing.{{cite web|url=http://www.silentsaregolden.com/articles/corinnegriffitharticle.html |title=Corrine Griffin: The Divine Lady |last=Tim |first=Lussier |year=2004 |publisher=silentsaregolden.com |access-date=April 28, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120327122643/http://www.silentsaregolden.com/articles/corinnegriffitharticle.html |archive-date=March 27, 2012}}

References

External links

{{IMDb title|0014721|Black Oxen}}
[http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/a/gertrude-atherton/black-oxen.htm Black Oxen (print)] at Fantastic Fiction – some publications with cover images
[https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/25542 Black Oxen] at Project Gutenberg – transcript of Photoplay Edition with photo illustrations from the film (HTML format contains linked images)
[https://silenthollywood.com/blackoxen1923.html Stills] at silenthollywood.com
[https://www.silentfilmstillarchive.com/black_oxen.htm Theater advertisement] at www.silentfilmstillarchive.com
{{Internet Archive film|silent-black-oxen|Black Oxen}}

Category:1923 films

Category:1923 romantic drama films

Category:1920s American films

Category:1920s English-language films

Category:1920s romantic fantasy films

Category:1920s science fiction films

Category:American black-and-white films

Category:American romantic fantasy films

Category:American silent feature films

Category:Articles containing video clips

Category:English-language romantic drama films

Category:English-language science fiction films