George Beban had made a career out of playing ethnic characters when
Thomas Ince signed him in 1914 to star in an original motion picture with
the working title "The Dago". There was much publicity when it was announced that the crew would travel to Italy to shoot some scenes but they only got as far as Venice, California. A very similar plotline to Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" which revebrations were still being felt ten years after publication - that American streets weren't paved with gold and it was a pretty scary place for an unskilled and uneducated migrant.
Beginning with the star George Beban, resplendent in a smoking jacket (patrons were not allowed to mistake the real star for the part he was playing) he begins to read "The Italian" and is transported into the story of an Italian peasant and his love for Annette. He is a gondolier and often takes tourists through the beautiful scenic countryside, hearing their tales of America where every man is a king. Annette also arouses the interest of the rich merchant Gallia and her father gives Beppo a year to make good. He goes to America and is soon recruited by a mob boss Corrigan to persuade his migrant friends to vote for a candidate "the working man's friend" and with the money he earns he sends for Annette!! Initially life is lovely - the marriage ceremony is a riot as Beppo forgets the ring and for Annette, life is a whirl of new faces and experiences.
Time passes and life in the slums takes it's toll (ghetto scenes were filmed on location in Los Angeles and San Francisco). The city endures a massive heat wave and their little baby is succumbing not only to the weather but the impure food - the doctor says they must only have pasteurized milk. Beppo's search for the elusive milk sets up a train of circumstances which see him robbed, thrown in prison and returning home to a wife grieving the death of their baby. All the while showing how, as a migrant, he is treated as a second class citizen - the thieves are believed by the police, his notes to Annette are discarded by a smirking prison guard and when he appeals to Corrigan (who is shown with his own family) he is kicked to the gutter!!
Weeks later Corrigan's own child is near death and must have absolute quiet, Beppo is tempted to wreak a terrible vengeance. There is a wonderful use of natural lighting - early scenes where the lovers walk the hills during sunset and when doors open, lights illumine the darkness of poverty.
Clara Williams was one of the principal actresses at Inceville along with Louise Glaum - she eventually married the film's director Reginald Barker and retired from acting. Her success in "The Italian" found her typecast in ethnic roles. Even though not a glamour girl she had a beautiful sincerity that highlighted her performances.
Beginning with the star George Beban, resplendent in a smoking jacket (patrons were not allowed to mistake the real star for the part he was playing) he begins to read "The Italian" and is transported into the story of an Italian peasant and his love for Annette. He is a gondolier and often takes tourists through the beautiful scenic countryside, hearing their tales of America where every man is a king. Annette also arouses the interest of the rich merchant Gallia and her father gives Beppo a year to make good. He goes to America and is soon recruited by a mob boss Corrigan to persuade his migrant friends to vote for a candidate "the working man's friend" and with the money he earns he sends for Annette!! Initially life is lovely - the marriage ceremony is a riot as Beppo forgets the ring and for Annette, life is a whirl of new faces and experiences.
Time passes and life in the slums takes it's toll (ghetto scenes were filmed on location in Los Angeles and San Francisco). The city endures a massive heat wave and their little baby is succumbing not only to the weather but the impure food - the doctor says they must only have pasteurized milk. Beppo's search for the elusive milk sets up a train of circumstances which see him robbed, thrown in prison and returning home to a wife grieving the death of their baby. All the while showing how, as a migrant, he is treated as a second class citizen - the thieves are believed by the police, his notes to Annette are discarded by a smirking prison guard and when he appeals to Corrigan (who is shown with his own family) he is kicked to the gutter!!
Weeks later Corrigan's own child is near death and must have absolute quiet, Beppo is tempted to wreak a terrible vengeance. There is a wonderful use of natural lighting - early scenes where the lovers walk the hills during sunset and when doors open, lights illumine the darkness of poverty.
Clara Williams was one of the principal actresses at Inceville along with Louise Glaum - she eventually married the film's director Reginald Barker and retired from acting. Her success in "The Italian" found her typecast in ethnic roles. Even though not a glamour girl she had a beautiful sincerity that highlighted her performances.