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The Lamb

  • 19151915
  • 56m
IMDb RATING
5.7/10
61
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Douglas Fairbanks in The Lamb (1915)
  • Adventure
  • Comedy
  • Western
Gerald, the somewhat frail son of a wealthy New York family, is bested at the beach by Bill, a strapping young cowboy from Arizona. His fiancée Mary, ashamed of Gerald's "yellow streak", lea... Read allGerald, the somewhat frail son of a wealthy New York family, is bested at the beach by Bill, a strapping young cowboy from Arizona. His fiancée Mary, ashamed of Gerald's "yellow streak", leaves him and goes by train to visit some friends in Arizona, with Bill in tow. Gerald follo... Read allGerald, the somewhat frail son of a wealthy New York family, is bested at the beach by Bill, a strapping young cowboy from Arizona. His fiancée Mary, ashamed of Gerald's "yellow streak", leaves him and goes by train to visit some friends in Arizona, with Bill in tow. Gerald follows them, and before long he and Mary winds up captured by Yaqui Indians and Gerald must pr... Read all
IMDb RATING
5.7/10
61
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Christy Cabanne
  • Writers
    • Christy Cabanne(screenplay)
    • D.W. Griffith(story)
    • Bronson Howard(play "The Henrietta")
  • Stars
    • Douglas Fairbanks
    • Seena Owen
    • Alfred Paget
Top credits
  • Director
    • Christy Cabanne
  • Writers
    • Christy Cabanne(screenplay)
    • D.W. Griffith(story)
    • Bronson Howard(play "The Henrietta")
  • Stars
    • Douglas Fairbanks
    • Seena Owen
    • Alfred Paget
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 8User reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos

    Douglas Fairbanks in The Lamb (1915)
    Douglas Fairbanks in The Lamb (1915)
    Douglas Fairbanks, William Lowery, and Seena Owen in The Lamb (1915)
    Douglas Fairbanks and Seena Owen in The Lamb (1915)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Douglas Fairbanks
    Douglas Fairbanks
    • Gerald - the Son of the Idle Richas Gerald - the Son of the Idle Rich
    Seena Owen
    Seena Owen
    • Mary - the American Girlas Mary - the American Girl
    Alfred Paget
    Alfred Paget
    • Bill Cactus - Mary's Model Type of Manas Bill Cactus - Mary's Model Type of Man
    Kate Toncray
    Kate Toncray
    • Gerald's Motheras Gerald's Mother
    William Lowery
    William Lowery
    • Yaqui Indian Chiefas Yaqui Indian Chief
    • (as William E. Lowery)
    Lillian Langdon
    • Mary's Motheras Mary's Mother
    Monroe Salisbury
    Monroe Salisbury
    • Mary's Cousin - The Wealthy Mineras Mary's Cousin - The Wealthy Miner
    Eagle Eye
    • Yaqui Indian Chiefas Yaqui Indian Chief
    • (as Charles Eagle Eye)
    Edward Warren
    Edward Warren
    • Gerald's Valetas Gerald's Valet
    Tom Kennedy
    Tom Kennedy
    • The White Hopelessas The White Hopeless
    Julia Faye
    Julia Faye
    • Minor Roleas Minor Role
    • (uncredited)
    Charles Stevens
    Charles Stevens
    • Lieutenantas Lieutenant
    • (uncredited)
    Mary Thurman
    Mary Thurman
    • Minor Roleas Minor Role
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Christy Cabanne
    • Writers
      • Christy Cabanne(screenplay)
      • D.W. Griffith(story)
      • Bronson Howard(play "The Henrietta") (uncredited)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Film debut of Douglas Fairbanks. It was also the debut of actresses Mary Thurman and Julia Faye.
    • Connections
      Featured in I, Douglas Fairbanks (2018)

    User reviews8

    Review
    Top review
    6/10
    Introducing Douglas Fairbanks
    In 1887 popular author Bronson Howard premiered his new play, 'The Henrietta.' Some twenty-five years later, after the playwright's death, it was revived on Broadway in a revised version entitled 'The New Henrietta,' and this time around it starred popular leading man Douglas Fairbanks in the central role, that of a timid young man named Bertie, nicknamed "the lamb." When Doug made his first feature film two years later in 1915, an adaptation of the hit play was the logical choice for his screen debut; or at least, that's how the story is told in various books and articles on Fairbanks. One look at the surviving film tells a different tale.

    It appears the first thing the filmmakers did when it came time to adapt this material was throw out Howard's plot, rename their timid protagonist Gerald, and keep the "lamb" nickname for the title. Otherwise it's a completely new scenario, freshly conceived for the motion picture medium. That said, the plot may seem more than a little familiar if you've seen some of Fairbanks' other comedies, the ones made in the 'teens before he turned to swashbuckling. Understandably, The Lamb is not as polished or as witty as the vehicles subsequently crafted for the star, but this is where it all started, that is, where the template for those comedies was created.

    Our central figure Gerald is the son of a Wall Street financier—that's practically the only element kept from the play—a soft and pampered fellow who speaks in an affected, pseudo-British fashion. He is courting Mary, a respectable young lady whose parents approve of the match largely because of Gerald's inherited wealth. But a complication arises when a virile young man from Arizona named Bill appears on the scene. Bill (amusingly called "the cactus fed giant" in title cards) is handsome and macho. Mary is smitten with him. And one day at the beach, when a drowning swimmer calls out for help, it's Bill who bravely rescues her while Gerald looks on passively. Mary denounces her fiancée as a coward, and he's ashamed.

    While Mary and several members of her social set visit Bill's Arizona ranch, located near the border with Mexico, Gerald tries to improve himself with lessons in boxing and Jiu-Jitsu. He then departs to join his friends out west, but is waylaid en route by a pair of thieves, and stranded in the desert. Eventually he makes his way to Arizona, just as a rebellion breaks out across the border in Mexico. Both Gerald and Mary are abducted by rebels; Bill, meanwhile, reveals his true colors by fleeing rather than helping Mary. Now strengthened by his experiences, Gerald turns the tables on his captors and protects Mary long enough to allow for their rescue by U.S. Army troops.

    That's the plot concocted for this film, and if you've seen any of Doug's other vehicles you'll instantly recognize some of the themes that would become familiar in follow-ups: the effete young weakling who must become tough, the impact of money on courtship and marriage, the superiority of strenuous living out West over stuffy society back East, etc. These elements would be reworked in various combinations, in such films as Double Trouble, Wild and Woolly, The Mollycoddle, etc. Next to those more polished efforts The Lamb is comparatively rough sledding. The tempo is slow in the opening scenes, and the title cards are awkwardly worded throughout. (Anita Loos & John Emerson would write witty text for the subsequent Fairbanks comedies; I gather Miss Loos worked on the titles for this film, but if that's correct she hadn't yet found the right tone to suit Doug's style.) This film also has the unhappy distinction of offering the star's all-time worst performance, in the scene where Gerald laments his cowardice after Bill rescues the drowning woman. Doug grimaces, rakes his face with his hand, turns one way and then the other, flings his arms in the air and then falls face forward into the sand! It's way over the top, and looks like a parody of bad acting. No wonder that, in later productions, Doug was inclined to underplay scenes of high emotion.

    In any case, while it doesn't hold up as well as his best features, The Lamb marked a highly significant career milestone for Douglas Fairbanks, and will therefore be of interest to anyone who enjoys his mature work. All the great stars had to begin somewhere. This is where Doug's screen career was launched, and considering how many early films are lost we can be grateful it survives at all.
    helpful•2
    0
    • wmorrow59
    • Oct 10, 2017

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 7, 1915 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • None
      • English
    • Also known as
      • A Man and the Test
    • Filming locations
      • San Diego, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Fine Arts Film Company
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Budget
      • $41,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      56 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Silent
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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