Snow White (I) (1916)

Snow White, a beautiful girl, is despised by a wicked queen who tries to destroy her. With the aid of dwarves in the woods, Snow White overcomes the queen.

Director:

J. Searle Dawley

Writers:

Winthrop Ames (by), Winthrop Ames,

Stars:

Dorothy Cumming, Creighton Hale, Lionel Braham

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Dorothy Cumming	...	Queen Brangomar (as Dorothy G. Cumming)
Creighton Hale	...	Prince Florimond
Lionel Braham	...	Berthold - the Huntsman
Alice Washburn	...	Witch Hex
Marguerite Clark	...	Snow White

Storyline

Snow White, a beautiful girl, is despised by a wicked queen who tries to destroy her. With the aid of dwarves in the woods, Snow White overcomes the queen.

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Plot Keywords:

snow white | queen | dwarf | fairy tale | prince | 

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Genres:

Fantasy | Romance

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

George Eastman Restoration site

Country:

USA

Release Date:

25 December 1916 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Georgia, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Famous Players Film Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

63 min 63 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This live-action version of the fairy tale that supposedly inspired Walt Disney to make the later animated version was thought to be lost, until discovered by George Eastman House in the Dutch film Archive. GEH acquired the nitrate and preserved it. They went back and, using the play script and translations, restored the English titles to the print. They also repaired some defects in the image and tinting of the film.

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Goofs

A crew member's shadow on the ground in front of Snow White during the scene in the forest after Berthold the Huntsman leaves her there.

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Connections

Featured in Walt: The Man Behind the Myth (2001)

User Reviews

This is the most charming version of the Grimm's tale ever done!!!

The 1916 film of "Snow White" is a screen adaptation of the 1912 Broadway play, written by Jessie Braham White. It tells the familiar tale of the "Stepmother from Hell" and the princess with "skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood and hair as black as night". It was thought to have been lost, until the George Eastman House located a print in a Danish film vault.....and the film world is so lucky they did!

Marguerite Clark recreates her Broadway role as "Snow White", and must have been born to play this faerie tale heroine!!! She is the epitome of this character!!!! I only wish that I was alive in 1912 to see her do the role live on stage.

Creighton Hale (The Cat and the Canary) is dashing as Prince Florimond, Snow White's love interest. It is a thankless role, but he manages to shine.

Dorothy Cumming is the vain "Queen Brangomar", Snow White's nemisis. It's ironic that years later she would play the "Virgin Mary" in "King of Kings".....quite a turn around!!!

The rest of the cast handles their roles equally as well as the above mentioned......including Lionel Braham (A Christmas Carol) as "Berthold the Huntsman", and Alice Washburn as "Witch Hex".

Hollywood folklore says that this is the film that inspired Walt Disney to create his animated classic. The similarities between the two are amazing! In the opening of the 1916 film, Snow White is a kitchen maid, going about her daily duties.....very much like Disney's heroine scrubbing the castle steps and crooning to doves. A little brown bird shows Snow White the way to the dwarfs' cottage....just like the animated animals did for her in the cartoon. She also cleans up the cottage, in both versions, before the dwarfs come home, and then falls asleep.

I highly recommend seeking out a copy of this film!!!!