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

One of the 50 films in the 4-disk boxed DVD set called "Treasures from American Film Archives (2000)", compiled by the National Film Preservation Foundation from 18 American film archives. This film was preserved by the George Eastman House. This version has an uncredited piano music score and runs 63 minutes. Marguarite Clark starred in the play "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" by Jessie Braham White; it opened in New York on 7 November 1912 and ran for 72 performances. This movie's writer, Winthrop Ames, produced that play and no doubt was greatly influenced by it. Sketches of the sets and costumes from the play were used for this 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

Another formerly lost treasure found!

"Lost" movies are truly the stuff that dreams are made of. So many were destroyed simply on whims of studios because the movies were too old to make any more money or who wanted to make room in their vaults. In retrospect we now know that many real treasures were lost and that is why finding a film presumed lost is such a reason to rejoice. Just recently the 10 reel LOST WORLD (1925) was found and so were uncut prints of THE GHOUL (1933), ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (1930), the original 1925 print of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, and the jewel in the crown, the 1910 Edison FRANKENSTEIN. And that brings me to the film I am here to-night to talk about, the 1916 SNOW WHITE. It was the time of the child-woman, the waif-girl. Audiences did not want their illusions shattered and once an actress turned in a convincing performance in a juvenile role she was typecast in the eyes of the ticket buying public. That is why you could find 32 year old Mary Pickford playing a 16 year old orphan in SPARROWS and why 23 year old Mary Miles Minter played sweet, blushing virgins until her involvement in the William Desmond Taylor murder case shot her career down in flames. Mabel Normand was always the funny tomboy and Dorothy Dwan was sweet and winsome. Marguerite Clark was 34 when she played the teen-something heroine in this classic fairy tale. Luckily the camera loved her and her age is not at all obvious. Sticking pretty close to the Grimm fairy tale Snow White is a true princess here but must work as a scullery maid thanks to her jealous stepmother, the queen. Everyone in the castle treats Snow like the royalty she really is even though she looks like a ragamuffin. When by accident she meets up with handsome Prince Florimond (Creighton Hale, who would go on the play the comic hero in THE CAT AND THE CANARY(1927)) and he falls in love with her not realising who she is it incites the queen to demand Snow's life, thus setting in motion the story we all know so well. The Hollywood movie industry was still in its infancy in 1916 so one must wonder out loud where they found 7 midgets (and in truth most of them ARE midgets, not dwarves) to play the 7 Dwarves. Then again finding 7 was probably a cinch compared to the even dozen who appeared in the 1914 RIP VAN WINKLE and that was shot in upstate New York! With a running time of just over an hour this is a film that is a must see for film students and people who just love silent movies. Now if someone could just find A BLIND BARGAIN and LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT. Well . . .we can dream, can't we?