Java Head (1923 film)
{{short description|1923 film by George Melford}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Java Head
| image = Java Head poster.jpg
| caption = Lobby poster
| director = George Melford
| producer =
| story = Waldemar Young (story and adaptation)
| based_on = {{based on|Java Head|Joseph Hergesheimer}}
| starring = Leatrice Joy
Jacqueline Logan
Alan Roscoe
| music =
| cinematography = Bert Glennon
Charles G. Clarke
| studio = Famous Players–Lasky
| distributor = Paramount Pictures
| released = {{film date|1923|1|28|U.S.}}
| runtime = 80 minutes
| country = United States
| language = Silent (English intertitles)
| budget = 200,000
}}
Java Head is a 1923 American silent romantic drama film directed by George Melford and starring Leatrice Joy, Jacqueline Logan, Frederick Strong, Alan Roscoe, and Betty Bronson in a bit part. It is based on a popular novel of the same name by Joseph Hergesheimer,[https://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/J/JavaHead1923.html Progressive Silent Film List: Java Head] at silentera.com which in turn is named after the geographical feature.
Java Head was remade in a 1934 British sound film starring Anna May Wong which was released by Associated Talking Pictures.
Plot
As described in a film magazine,{{cite journal |title=Java Head: Paramount Photoplay in Eight Parts |journal=Exhibitor's Trade Review |volume=13 |issue=12 |page=627 |publisher=Exhibitor's Trade Review, Inc. |location=East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania |date=February 17, 1923 |url=https://archive.org/details/exhibitorst00newy}} during the late 1840s wealthy retired sea captain Jeremy Ammidon (Strong) lives with his children and grandchildren in a house known as "Java Head" in Salem, Massachusetts. Jeremy's son William (Hall) manages the family business. Gerrit Ammidon (Roscoe), skipper of the Nautilus in its oriental trade, loves Nettie Vollar (Logan), a granddaughter of Barzil Dunsack (Fawcett), an enemy of Jeremy. Barzil orders Gerrit out of his house. In China, Gerrit rescues Taou Yuen (Joy) from a gang of ruffians. Her father, a Manchu noble, orders the two to be wed or slain. Gerrit marries Taou and brings her to Salem where her appearance causes consternation among the Ammidon family and Nettie to become ill. Edward Dunsack (Hatton), a drug addict, is fascinated by Taou and tries to turn her mind against Gerrit. Edward tells her that Gerrit loves Nettie, whom she has seen at a party, but Taou repulses him. Nettie learns that Gerrit still loves her and is visited by Taou, who then takes an overdose of opium and dies. Nettie and Gerrit are wed and sail away on the Nautilus.
Cast
- Leatrice Joy as Taou Yuen
- Jacqueline Logan as Nettie Vollar
- Frederick Strong as Jeremy Ammidon
- Alan Roscoe as Gerrit Ammidon (probably credited as Albert Roscoe)
- Arthur Stuart Hall as William Ammidon
- Rose Tapley as Rhoda Ammidon
- Violet Axzelle as Laurel Ammidon
- Audrey Berry as Sisall Ammidon
- Polly Archer as Camilla Ammidon
- Betty Bronson as Janet Ammidon
- George Fawcett as Barzil Dunsack
- Raymond Hatton as Edward Dunsack
- Helen Lindroth as Kate Vollar
- Dan Pennell as Broadrick
- George S. Stevens as The Butler
- Mimi Sherwood as The Maid
- Frances Hatton as The Nurse
Production notes
Exterior scenes were shot on location in Salem, Massachusetts, where the film is also set.{{cite book|last=Sherwood|first=Robert Emmet |title=The Best Moving Pictures of ... Also Who's who in the Movies and the Yearbook of the American Screen|year=1923|publisher=Small, Maynard|page=104}}
Preservation
No copies of Java Head are listed in any film archives,[http://lcweb2.loc.gov:8081/diglib/ihas/loc.mbrs.sfdb.6571/default.html Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: Java Head] which suggests that it is a lost film.
Gallery
Java Head (1923) - 2.jpg|Film poster
Java Head (1923) - Joy.jpg|Film still with Leatrice Joy
Java Head (1923) - 1.jpg|Jacqueline Logan and Leatrice Joy
Filming of Java Head, 1922.jpg|Filming on Hardy Street in Salem, October 1922
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|Java Head (1923 film)}}
- {{IMDb title|0014163|title=Java Head}}
- [https://www.emovieposter.com/images/moviestars/AA090813/wc_java_head_DA00601_L.jpg Lobby poster]
- [https://www.flickr.com/photos/greenman2008/4387696778/ Foreign release poster]
{{George Melford}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Java Head (1923 film)}}
Category:1923 romantic drama films
Category:1920s English-language films
Category:American black-and-white films
Category:American silent feature films
Category:English-language romantic drama films
Category:Famous Players-Lasky films
Category:Films based on American novels
Category:Films based on romance novels
Category:Films directed by George Melford
Category:Films set in Massachusetts
Category:Films shot in Massachusetts
Category:Films shot in New York City
Category:Lost American romantic drama films