Kindred of the Dust
Encyclopedia
Kindred of the Dust is an American
silent film
directed by Raoul Walsh
, and starring his wife Miriam Cooper
. The film was the last independent picture for Walsh's production company, and the last film he and Cooper would make together. Today it is one of Walsh's earliest surviving features, and is one of only two non-D. W. Griffith
features of Cooper's that still is known to survive.
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
directed by Raoul Walsh
Raoul Walsh
Raoul Walsh was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the brother of silent screen actor George Walsh...
, and starring his wife Miriam Cooper
Miriam Cooper
Miriam Cooper was a silent film actress who is best known for her work in early film including Birth of a Nation and Intolerance for D.W. Griffith and The Honor System and Evangeline for her husband Raoul Walsh...
. The film was the last independent picture for Walsh's production company, and the last film he and Cooper would make together. Today it is one of Walsh's earliest surviving features, and is one of only two non-D. W. Griffith
D. W. Griffith
David Llewelyn Wark Griffith was a premier pioneering American film director. He is best known as the director of the controversial and groundbreaking 1915 film The Birth of a Nation and the subsequent film Intolerance .Griffith's film The Birth of a Nation made pioneering use of advanced camera...
features of Cooper's that still is known to survive.
Plot
Discovering that her husband is a bigamist, Nan (Cooper) returns with her child to her Puget Sound logging town. She is treated as an outcast by all save Donald (Graves), her childhood sweetheart who happens to be the son of a millionaire. Their romance is thwarted by his parents, but after she nurses him to recovery from an apparently fatal illness they are married. The subsequent arrival of a son prompts a family reconciliation.Cast
- Miriam CooperMiriam CooperMiriam Cooper was a silent film actress who is best known for her work in early film including Birth of a Nation and Intolerance for D.W. Griffith and The Honor System and Evangeline for her husband Raoul Walsh...
as Nan of the Sawdust Pile - Ralph GravesRalph GravesRalph Graves was an American screenwriter, film director, and actor who appeared in 93 films between 1918 and 1949....
as Donald McKaye - Lionel BelmoreLionel BelmoreLionel Belmore . When he was born, Wimbledon was in Surrey. He was an English character actor and director on stage for more than a quarter of a century, appearing with Wilson Barrett, Sir Henry Irving, William Faversham, Lily Langtry and other famous actors. He entered in films from 1911...
as The Laird of Tyee - Eugenie BessererEugenie BessererEugenie Besserer was an actress born in Watertown, New York of French Canadian parents, who starred in silent films and features of the early sound motion picture era, beginning in 1910.- Orphan in Canada:...
as Mrs. McKaye - Maryland Morne as Jane McKaye
- Elizabeth Waters as Elizabeth McKaye
- William J. Ferguson as Mr. Daney
- Caroline Rankin as Mrs. Daney
- Patrick Rooney as Dirty' Dann OLeary
- John Herdman as Caleb Brent
- Bruce Guerin as Little Donald
Production
During filming Cooper accidentally gazed into a stage light causing her permanent eye damage that lasted until the end of her life. The film ended up being Walsh's final independent production and was the last time Cooper and Walsh (who had made several films together) worked together. The film was one of Cooper's last films as she retired in 1923.Release
The film was released on February 27, 1922. Cooper felt it was mediocre but the film performed decently at the box office. The film still exists and was restored in 2004, is one of the few films from Walsh's early years to survive, and is also one of only two surviving films from Cooper's starring years. The film has been screened at a few film festivals since its restoration but has not been released for home videoHome video
Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...
.