This 1922 silent film directed by John M. Stahl is based on a 1915 novel of that title by Frances Nimmo Greene. Greene (5 April 1867-9 Dec 1937) was born in Tuscaloosa and spent her life in the state. She wrote novels, non-fiction and works for children. Her 1913 novel The Right of the Strongest, was filmed in 1924; I've written about it here. A 1918 novel, The Devil to Pay, was filmed in 1920. These films are one example of the popularity of her work.
One Clear Call is a trifecta of Alabama connections: it's based on a novel by a state native; one of the stars, Henry B. Walthall, is a state native; and it's set in the state. Whew! But wait, there's more! Another of the leading actors, Milton Sills, appeared as the lead in Men of Steel, a 1926 production filmed in Alabama. I've written a blog post about it here.
Since I haven't seen the film, I'll post this summary by Janniss Garza at the AllMovie site:
"Veteran silent star Henry Walthall shines in this drama, based on the novel by Frances Nimmo Greene. In spite of the complaints from his sister, Maggie Thornton (Irene Rich), Dr. Alan Hamilton (Milton Sills) insists on befriending Henry Garnett (Walthall), who runs a gambling hall. A young woman (Claire Windsor) is brought into Hamilton's hospital unconscious, and she refuses to reveal her identity. Hamilton falls in love with the girl, who he calls Faith, and she is the only one who encourages his friendship with Garnett. On the night he keeps a rioting mob away from the gambling hall, he reveals to Faith that he is looking for Garnett's long-lost wife because the gambler has only a limited time to live. Faith finally reveals that she is the wife, but Hamilton turns around and urges her to keep her secret. His bad advice eats away at him, and he turns to drink until he is compelled to tend to his nephew, who has been badly injured. He then takes Faith to Garnett, but the dying gambler wishes her only happiness and releases her from her bond to him by drinking poison."
Got that?
By the time Shelby County native Henry B. Walthall appeared in One Clear Call, he had been acting in films since 1909. Born in 1878, Walthall served in the First Alabama Regiment during the Spanish American War, but caught malaria and was not deployed before the war ended. By 1900 or so he was in New York acting on the stage. Eight years later he made his first film for Biograph Studios in New York. Walthall worked often with director D.W. Griffith and followed along when Griffith left New York for California. Walthall had a major role as Colonel Ben Cameron in Griffith's notorious yet influential The Birth of a Nation . He continued acting in numerous movies until his death in 1936--a year in which he acted in six films!
Frances Nimmo Greene was a busy woman and not just as a writer. After finishing at Tuscaloosa Female College, she taught at a public school in Montgomery and a private girl's school in Birmingham. During this period, under the pen name "Dixie" Greene was "Southern correspondent" for the Philadelphia Times newspaper.
She worked at the library division of the state archives beginning in 1909 and was secretary for the Birmingham Library Association. Greene returned to newspaper work as society page editor of the Birmingham News in 1911 and 1912. Later in life she worked in support of the Birmingham Little Theater and taught fiction and drama writing classes. In the last 18 months before she died she worked for the New Deal's Federal Theater Project in Birmingham; I've written about the FTP in Alabama here.
Most of her published writing appeared between 1901 and 1920. Her first book Legends of King Arthur and His Court was a textbook for children; so was the second, Spurs of Gold: Heroes of Chivalry and Their Deeds published in 1905. That King Arthur book was popular and later cited by Harry Truman as one he used for his own self-education.
Her first book for adults Into the Night: A Story of New Orleans was published in 1909. This novel incorporated real life events, the 1890 assassination of New Orleans police chief David Hennessey and the subsequent lynching of 11 of the 19 Italian men indicted for his murder. In an article about Greene, Marie Bankhead Owen describes their research trip to the Big Easy as Greene prepared to write the book. Owen served as chaperon, and the two rented apartments while they consulted both library shelves and life on the streets.
Nimmo's subsequent books included additional novels, textbooks and two plays. A good bibliography is included in her BhamWiki entry; most of her books are available via the Internet Archive.
One Clear Call's director John M. Stahl helmed several movies before this one; his career as both producer and director would continue until the year before his death in 1950. Script author Bess Meredyth was also well known in the industry. She acted in a number of silent films between 1913 and 1915, and wrote scripts for dozens of silent and sound movies from 1910 until 1947. Married to famed director Michael Curtiz, Meredyth was one of 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
One Clear Call has apparently never been released on video or DVD. However, according to Wikipedia, a copy exists at the George Eastman House Motion Picture Collection.
On the lobby card for the film, director Stahl is named above the title, but Greene is also acknowledged below the title.
Source: Wikipedia
Claire Windsor and Milton Sills
Source: Wikipedia Commons
Source: A Claire Windsor fan site
Producer Louis B. Mayer, actor Henry B. Walthall and director John M. Stahl on the set
Source: Exhibitors Herald 1 April 1922 via Wikimedia
Henry B. Walthall
Source: Wikipedia Commons
Scene from One Clear Call
Source: Wikipedia Commons
Ad that appeared in the Duluth Herald 7 July 1922
Source: Wikipedia Commons
Review of One Clear Call from the Gaffney [SC] Tribune 10 July 1923. The film was released in May 1922, so you can tell from the date of this review how long it took to make its way around the country. At 80 minutes long the final cut came in at 8000 feet of film. According to the IMDB, some 200,000 feet were shot.
The novel can be found at the Internet Archive.
Francis Nimmo Greene
Source: Wikipedia
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