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Madame Butterfly (1915 film)
Encyclopedia
Madame Butterfly is a 1915
silent film
directed by Sidney Olcott
. The film is based upon a John Luther Long
novel and the opera Madama Butterfly
.
fought constantly with Sidney Olcott
about the character. Olcott wanted Pickford to be more reserved and thought she was "too Americanized to play a Japanese".
in 1904. Lieutenant Pinkerton (Marshall Neilan
) marries Cho-Cho-San 'Butterfly' (Mary Pickford
), a 15-year-old Japanese geisha
. Cho-Cho-San is lucky with her new husband and takes the marriage very seriously. Pinkterton, however, regards it as entertainment. He is not in love with her and plans to break off the wedding in a month. The American Consul (William T. Carleton) begs him to break off the wedding as soon as possible, to avoid hurting her feelings. The lieutenant laughs him off.
Pinkerton soon discovers Cho-Cho-San broke contact with her disapproving family in order to be married with him. He also finds out her father was a samurai
who killed himself and that was the reason why Cho-Cho-San was taught to be a geisha. When Pinkerton is ordered to return to America, he promises Cho-Cho-San he will return before he leaves. Three years go by. Cho-Cho-San, now a mother, still believes Pinkerton will return someday, while he is engaged to an American woman. He sends her a letter to announce he will marry another woman, but Cho-Cho-San can't read.
Meanwhile, The Prince of Japan (David Burton) takes interest in Cho-Cho-San, but she refuses his company and claims she is still waiting for her husband. Sometime later, Pinkerton returns to Japan and announces to Cho-Cho San's maid, Suzuki (Olive West), that he will marry an American woman. The American woman asks Cho-Cho-San to give them her child, as he will be given better opportunities and prosperity under their parenting. Cho-Cho-San is crushed but complies and hands over her child. She kills herself in the final scene by walking into a river and drowning.
1915 in film
The year 1915 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 8 : D.W Griffith's The Birth of a Nation premieres at Clune's Auditorium Los Angeles and breaks box office and film length records, running at a total length of 3 hrs 10 minutes.* June 18 : The Motion Picture Directors...
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 Sidney Olcott
Sidney Olcott
Sidney Olcott was a Canadian-born film producer, director, actor and screenwriter.-Biography:Born John Sidney Alcott in Toronto, he became one of the first great directors of the motion picture business...
. The film is based upon a John Luther Long
John Luther Long
John Luther Long was an American lawyer and writer best known for his short story "Madame Butterfly", which was based on the recollections of his sister, Jennie Correll, who had been to Japan with her husband—a Methodist missionary.Born in Hanover, Pennsylvania, Long had been admitted to the bar...
novel and the opera Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
.
Production
Reportedly, leading actress Mary PickfordMary Pickford
Mary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
fought constantly with Sidney Olcott
Sidney Olcott
Sidney Olcott was a Canadian-born film producer, director, actor and screenwriter.-Biography:Born John Sidney Alcott in Toronto, he became one of the first great directors of the motion picture business...
about the character. Olcott wanted Pickford to be more reserved and thought she was "too Americanized to play a Japanese".
Plot
The film takes place in JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 1904. Lieutenant Pinkerton (Marshall Neilan
Marshall Neilan
Marshall Ambrose Neilan was an American motion picture actor, screenwriter, film director, and producer.-Early life:...
) marries Cho-Cho-San 'Butterfly' (Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
), a 15-year-old Japanese geisha
Geisha
, Geiko or Geigi are traditional, female Japanese entertainers whose skills include performing various Japanese arts such as classical music and dance.-Terms:...
. Cho-Cho-San is lucky with her new husband and takes the marriage very seriously. Pinkterton, however, regards it as entertainment. He is not in love with her and plans to break off the wedding in a month. The American Consul (William T. Carleton) begs him to break off the wedding as soon as possible, to avoid hurting her feelings. The lieutenant laughs him off.
Pinkerton soon discovers Cho-Cho-San broke contact with her disapproving family in order to be married with him. He also finds out her father was a samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
who killed himself and that was the reason why Cho-Cho-San was taught to be a geisha. When Pinkerton is ordered to return to America, he promises Cho-Cho-San he will return before he leaves. Three years go by. Cho-Cho-San, now a mother, still believes Pinkerton will return someday, while he is engaged to an American woman. He sends her a letter to announce he will marry another woman, but Cho-Cho-San can't read.
Meanwhile, The Prince of Japan (David Burton) takes interest in Cho-Cho-San, but she refuses his company and claims she is still waiting for her husband. Sometime later, Pinkerton returns to Japan and announces to Cho-Cho San's maid, Suzuki (Olive West), that he will marry an American woman. The American woman asks Cho-Cho-San to give them her child, as he will be given better opportunities and prosperity under their parenting. Cho-Cho-San is crushed but complies and hands over her child. She kills herself in the final scene by walking into a river and drowning.
Cast
- Mary PickfordMary PickfordMary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
- Cho-Cho-San - Marshall NeilanMarshall NeilanMarshall Ambrose Neilan was an American motion picture actor, screenwriter, film director, and producer.-Early life:...
- Lieutenant Pinkerton - Olive West - Suzuki
- Jane Hall - Adelaide
- Lawrence Wood - Cho-Cho-San's father
- Caroline HarrisCaroline HarrisCaroline Harris , was an American actress. She appeared in 12 films between 1909 and 1917. Her last film was The Gulf Between, the first film released in the Technicolor process.She died in New York, New York, USA....
- Cho-Cho-San's mother - M.W. Rale - The Nakodo
- William T. Carleton - The American Consul
- David Burton - The Prince
- Cesare GravinaCesare GravinaCesare Gravina was an Italian actor of the silent era. He appeared in 60 films between 1912 and 1929.He was born in Naples, Italy.-Selected filmography:* The Fatal Ring * Madame X...
- The Soothsayer - Frank DekumFrank DekumFrank Dekum was a prominent 19th century fruit merchant, banker, and real-estate investor in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. Born in Germany, Dekum emigrated to the north-central U.S...
- Naval officer
External links
- Madame Butterfly stats at silentera.com Madame Butterfly website dedicated to Sidney Olcott