The Courtship of Miles Standish (1923 film)

{{infobox film

| name = The Courtship of Miles Standish

| image = Courship-of-myles-standish - charles-ray-vintage-photoplay-advert1923.jpg

| caption = Contemporary magazine advertisement

| director = Frederic Sullivan

| writer = Albert Ray

| based_on = {{based on|The Courtship of Miles Standish|Henry Wadsworth Longfellow}}

| starring = Charles Ray
Enid Bennett
E. Alyn Warren

| cinematography = George Rizard

| studio = Charles Ray Producing

| distributor = Associated Exhibitors

| released = {{Film date|1923|12|30}}

| runtime = 90 minutes

| country = United States

| language = Silent
English intertitles

}}

The Courtship of Miles Standish, also known as The Courtship of Myles Standish,[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0013950/ IMDb entry and some advertisements] is a 1923 American silent epic historical romantic drama film about Myles Standish produced by and starring Charles Ray, Enid Bennett, and E. Alyn Warren.{{cite book|last=White Munden|first=Kenneth |title=The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films, 1921–1930|year=1997|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=0-520-20969-9|page=149}} Directed by Frederic Sullivan, nephew of the famous composer Sir Arthur Sullivan, and scripted by Albert Ray, the film is based on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1858 poem The Courtship of Miles Standish.{{cite book|last=Snow|first=Stephen Eddy |others=Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Barbara |title=Performing the Pilgrims: A Study of Ethnohistorical Role-Playing at Plimoth Plantation|year=2008|publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi|isbn=978-1-60473-181-1|page=20}} No prints of the film are known to exist and it is now presumed lost.[http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/C/CourtshipOfMilesStandi1923.html Progressive Silent Film List: The Courtship of Miles Standish] at silentera.com

Background and production

Actor Charles Ray had risen to fame in the mid to late 1910s playing young, wholesome fun country bumpkins in silent comedy films directed by Thomas H. Ince for Paramount Pictures.{{cite book|last=Slide|first=Anthony|title=Silent Players: A Biographical and Autobiographical Study of 100 Silent Film Actors and Actresses|year=2002|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|isbn=0-8131-2249-X|pages=[https://archive.org/details/biographicalauto00slid/page/325 325–326]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/biographicalauto00slid/page/325}} By 1920, Ray was earning $11,000 a week (approximately ${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|11000|1920|r=-3}}}} today).{{cite web|url=http://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/charles-ray/|title=Hollywood Star Walk: Charles Ray|work=Los Angeles Times|accessdate=May 31, 2013}} He left Paramount in 1920 after Adolph Zukor reportedly refused to give him a substantial raise, and formed his own production company, Charles Ray Productions. The company produced several fairly successful comedy films from 1920 to 1922, several of which were written by (and featured assistant direction from) Albert Ray, Charles Ray's first cousin.

By 1922, Ray had grown tired of playing country bumpkin roles and decided to reinvent himself as a dramatic actor in romantic leading man roles.{{cite book|title=Motion Picture, Volume 45|year=1933|publisher=Macfadden-Bartell|page=86}} Against the advice of producers and friends, Ray chose to make a historical epic costume drama based on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1858 narrative poem The Courtship of Miles Standish.{{cite book |last=Marion |first=Frances |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PVRBAQAAIAAJ |title=Off With Their Heads!: A Serio-Comic Tale Of Hollywood |publisher=Macmillan |year=1972 |page=107}}

After failing to secure financial backing from a major studio, Ray put up $500,000 of his own money to fund the project.{{cite book|last=Beauchamp|first=Cari |title=Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Powerful Women of Early Hollywood|year=1998|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=0-520-21492-7|page=159}} The scenario for the film, taken from Longfellow's poem, was written by Albert Ray, with direction by Frederic Sullivan (although all creative decisions on the film rested entirely with Charles Ray himself).

The film was shot in part at the Charles Ray Studio located on Sunset Boulevard (now known as the KCET Studios) in Los Angeles which Ray purchased shortly after leaving Paramount in 1920.{{cite book|last=Alleman|first=Richard |title=Hollywood: The Movie Lover's Guide: The Ultimate Insider Tour of Movie L.A.|year=2013|publisher=Random House Digital, Inc.|isbn=978-0-8041-3777-5|page=169}} On one of the studio's sound stages, Ray had a 180-ton rocking replica of the Mayflower built that cost a reported $65,000 (approximately ${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|65000|1923|r=-3}}}} today).{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-aug-01-me-61688-story.html|title=Film Pioneer Griffith Rode History to Fame|last=Rasmussen|first=Cecilia|date=August 1, 1999|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=May 30, 2013}}{{cite book|last=Brownlow|first=Kevin|title=Hollywood, the pioneers|url=https://archive.org/details/hollywoodpioneer0000brow|url-access=registration|year=1979|publisher=Knopf|isbn=0-394-50851-3|page=[https://archive.org/details/hollywoodpioneer0000brow/page/247 247]}} Other sequences were shot in Lake Arrowhead, California where Ray had three full sized log cabins built solely for exterior shots.{{cite book|last=Cozad|first=W. Lee |title=Those Magnificent Mountain Movies: The Golden Years 1911–1939|year=2002|isbn=0-9723372-1-0|page=95|publisher=Rim of the World Historical Society Publication }} By the end of filming, Ray had spent over $1 million of his own money and the film's budget reportedly rose to a reported $3 million (approximately ${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|3000000|1923|r=-3}}}} today).{{cite book|others=Writers' War Board|title=Transatlantic, Issues 1-16|year=1943|page=37}}

Cast

{{Cast listing|

}}

Reception

Upon its release, The Courtship of Miles Standish received some favorable reviews from critics, but was not well received by audiences.{{cite book |last=Hart |first=James David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fq_NvwEACAAJ |title=The Popular Book: A History of America's Literary Taste |publisher=University of California Press |year=1961 |page=232}}{{cite book|last1=Nash|first1=Jay Robert |last2=Connelly|first2=Robert |last3=Ross|first3=Stanley Ralph |title=Motion Picture Guide Silent Film 1910–1936|volume=10|year=1988|publisher=Cinebooks|isbn=0-933997-10-8|page=53}} Frederick James Smith described the film as "merely dull" and that "the acting is not much." Smith wrote, "Ray seems oppressed by the historical significance of John, and he allots himself entirely too much film. Enid Bennett makes Priscilla a simpering and almost insufferable ingenue."{{cite journal |last=Smith |first=Frederick James |date=April 1924 |title=New Screenplays in Review |url=https://archive.org/stream/screenland09unse/screenland09unse#page/n61/mode/2up |journal=Screenland |location=New York |publisher=Screenland, Inc. |access-date=January 31, 2016 }} The film was a box office failure, losing $1 million and effectively ruining Charles Ray's career.{{cite book|last=Karney|first=Robyn |title=The Movie Stars Story|year=1984|publisher=Crescent Books|isbn=0-517-43736-8|page=34}} Ray's production company went bankrupt and he was forced to declare personal bankruptcy. For his part, Frederic Sullivan never directed another film.

Ray's career would never rebound from the failure of The Courtship of Miles Standish. He continued acting, but appeared in smaller budget productions, in supporting roles. During the sound era, Ray appeared in bit parts and filed for bankruptcy a second time in 1934. He died of a systemic infection in November 1943.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WTUyAAAAIBAJ&pg=4324,4031779&dq=charles+ray+actor+mouth+infection&hl=en|title=Charles Ray Of Films Dies|date=November 23, 1943|work=Berkeley Daily Gazette|page=1|accessdate=June 19, 2017}}{{cite book|last= Ellenberger|first=Allan R.|title=Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory|year=2001|publisher=McFarland & Company Incorporated Pub|isbn=0-786-40983-5|page=68}}

References

External links

{{IMDb title|0013950|The Courtship of Miles Standish}}
[https://www.coinpeople.com/topic/23224-the-courtship-of-miles-standish/ Token or movie medallion issued for film] at coinpeople.com

Category:1923 films

Category:1923 romantic drama films

Category:1920s historical romance films

Category:American silent feature films

Category:American black-and-white films

Category:American epic films

Category:Cultural depictions of British people

Category:Films based on poems

Category:Films based on works by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Category:Films set in the 1620s

Category:Films set in Massachusetts

Category:Films set in the Thirteen Colonies