The Immigrant
1915 · United States
- Director
- George Melford
- Screenplay
- Marion Fairfax
- Producer
- Jesse Louis Lasky
Cast
What it is about
Masha, a young Russian immigrant travelling to the United States, is insulted by a ship's officer and defended by David Harding, a young American civil engineer and contractor returning from Europe. In New York, Masha enters the household of J. J. Walton, a powerful political boss and contractor who becomes infatuated with her, and matters grow complicated when Harding finds himself in a rivalry with Walton over a public works project in Arizona.
How it was made
The film was directed by George Melford from a screenplay by Marion Fairfax and produced by Jesse L. Lasky. Its lead, Valeska Suratt, specialized in vamp roles and was one of Theda Bara's rivals, and this was her only film made outside the Fox Film Studios. The cast also includes Thomas Meighan, Theodore Roberts and Raymond Hatton.
Reception and legacy
The film is now considered lost, so its critical and commercial reception can barely be documented from the available sources. Its present interest lies mainly in Suratt's performance and in its place within American cinema of 1915.
Trivia
A lost film
The film survives in no known copies today, which limits direct study of its staging.
A break from Fox
It was the only film Valeska Suratt made away from the Fox studios, where she had worked on other titles.
More films by George Melford
The Sheik
Dracula
Everywoman
Men, Women, and Money
Out of the Darkness
The WomanOriginal Cinematopedia text based on Wikipedia (en) and Wikidata.