Vanity Fair (1911 film)
| Vanity Fair | |
|---|---|
 Scene still taken from The Moving Picture World | |
| Directed by | Charles Kent |
| Starring | |
Production company | |
Release date | December 19, 1911 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
Vanity Fair is a 1911 silent film adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's 1848 novel of the same name. It was one of Vitagraph's first three reel productions, along with A Tale of Two Cities (1911).
Plot[edit]
Cast[edit]
Vanity Fair reportedly made use of Vitagraph's entire company of stock players. The following cast members are named by The Moving Picture World:[2]
- Helen Gardner as Becky Sharpe
- William V. Ranous as Lord Steyne
- Harry Northrup as Rawdon Crawley
- Alec B. Francis as Pitt Crawley
- John Bunny as Jos Sedley[3]
- Leo Delaney as George Osborne
- Tefft Johnson as Captain Dobbin
- Kate Price as Miss Crawley
- William Shea as Sir Pitt Crawley
- Charles Kent as John Sedley
- B. F. Clinton as Mrs. Sedley
- Rose E. Tapley as Amelia Sedley
Production[edit]
The Moving Picture World reported in October 1911 that the film was nearly completed.[4][5][6] The film was directed by Charles Kent.[7]
Release and reception[edit]
The film was released on December 19, 1911.[8] In contrast to A Tale of Two Cities (1911), all three reels of Vanity Fair were released on the same day.[6]
According to The Moving Picture World, the film "comes nearer to being a flawless adaptation than anything else that has appeared in moving pictures".[2]
The film's screenwriter...[9]
Vitagraph continued making three-reelers based on classic literature throughout the 1910s.[10]
In 1916, The Sun listed Vanity Fair among a group of films that adapted classic literature for the screen.[3]
Notes[edit]
- ^ "Licensed Film Stories: Vanity Fair". The Moving Picture World. December 16, 1911. p. 920.
- ^ a b "Reviews of Notable Films: 'Vanity Fair' (Vitagraph)". The Moving Picture World. December 16, 1911. pp. 886–87.
- ^ a b "Classics of Fiction Being Popularized by the Movies". The Sun. New York. May 28, 1916. Sec. 4, p. 7.
- ^ "Vitagraph Doings". The Moving Picture World. October 7, 1911. p. 47.
- ^ "Working Far Ahead". The Moving Picture World. October 21, 1911. p. 194.
- ^ a b Slide & Gevinson 1987, p. 61.
- ^ "Vanity Fair (1911) | BFI". British Film Institute. Retrieved October 1, 2018.[dead link]
- ^ Slide & Gevinson 1987, p. 208.
- ^ "Letters to the Editor: Wants Scenario Writers Credited". The Moving Picture World. December 30, 1911. p. 1084.
- ^ Slide & Gevinson 1987, p. 82.
References[edit]
- Pointer, Michael (1996). Charles Dickens on the Screen: The Film, Television, and Video Adaptations. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-2960-6.
- Slide, Anthony; Gevinson, Alan (1987). The Big V: A History of the Vitagraph Company (revised ed.). Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-2030-7.
- Uricchio, William; Pearson, Roberta E. (1993). Reframing Culture: The Case of the Vitagraph Quality Films. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-04774-X.
External links[edit]
- Vanity Fair at IMDb
- Vanity Fair[dead link] at the British Film Institute
- Vanity Fair at Letterboxd
- Vanity Fair at the Silent Film Still Archive
