The Sawdust Ring
About The Sawdust Ring
Janet Magie and Peter Weldon run away to become circus performers. Her mother is in the hospital; his father is a junk dealer. They reach Colonel Simmonds's show, where she rides and he clowns. When Janet falls from a horse, Simmonds realizes she is the daughter he lost after his wife left him over a misunderstanding. Through the girl he reaches his wife, and the family is reunited.
Cast & crew
More about The Sawdust Ring
Thomas H. Ince produced the picture for Triangle Film Corporation, which released it in the United States on July 15, 1917. Charles Miller and Paul Powell directed. L. V. Jefferson wrote it. Clyde De Vinna and Harry Bredesen photographed it. It runs five reels. It was also issued as The Little Equestrienne.
Themes
Making
Ince's unit staged the ring acts rather than relying on stock circus footage alone: the plot turns on Janet's fall from a horse in Simmonds's show.
Look
Clyde De Vinna and Harry Bredesen shared the photography, covering both the road the children travel and the ring where Janet falls.
Music
Silent, with English intertitles.
Preservation
A shortened 9.5 mm reduction print survives at the Cineteca Nazionale, the Pacific Film Archive, and the BFI National Archive. The original five-reel release is not known to survive complete.
Notes
- Bessie Love plays Janet Magie. Harold Goodwin is Peter, Jack Richardson is Colonel Simmonds, and Josephine Headley is Mrs. Magie.
- Daisy Dean plays Paquita. Alfred Hollingsworth plays Steve Weldon, Peter's father.
- The feature-length release is not known to survive whole.
- Harpodeon has issued the shortened version.
Scenes
- Janet and Peter talk their way into Colonel Simmonds's circus, she as a rider and he as a clown.
- After Janet falls from the horse, Simmonds recognizes his daughter and goes looking for the wife who left him.
Also available
- Internet Archive (silent-the-sawdust-ring)
- Harpodeon (shortened version)