The Island of Regeneration (1915)
Drama | 17 May 1915
Cast:
Edith Storey, Bobby Connelly , Antonio Moreno [ More ]Director:
Harry DavenportWriter:
Jasper Ewing BradyProduction Companies:
Vitagraph Co. of America, Broadway Star Features Co.The 26 September 1914 Moving Picture World announced that a director named Thompson—most likely either David or Frederick Thompson—would soon be making The Island of Regeneration with "Miss Storey" and "Mr. Moreno." However, Harry Davenport was the director of record.
According to the December 1915 Motion Picture Magazine, the island scenes were filmed at Oyster Bay on Long Island, NY. The film crew covered the trees with Spanish moss and added "a few palms and tropical plants to the landscape" to make it look like a South Sea island. The cave scenes and some of Edith Storey's water scenes were shot at the "Vitagraph yard and tank" at the company studios in Brooklyn, NY. "Most of these scenes were taken in zero weather, unfortunately," the magazine noted, "and Mr. [J. Stuart] Blackton had difficulty in preventing the vapor of the breath from registering when the players spoke the lines, for that would, of course, have spoiled the tropical effect. When the players spoke, they drew in their breaths instead of inhaling."
The 19 June 1915 Picture-Play Weekly ran a photo-illustrated, six-page short-story adaption from the scenario. The June 1915 Motion Picture Magazine ran its own "storyized" version of The Island of Regeneration, by a different writer, but taken "from the novel by Rev. Cyrus Townsend Brady."
The Island of Regeneration opened at the Vitagraph Theatre in New York on 31 Jan 1915. It was released by V-L-S-E, Inc. on 17 May 1915. Vitagraph re-released a re-edited version in 1920 and recopyrighted it under the number LP15221 on 7 Jun 1920.
The National Film Preservation ...
The 26 September 1914 Moving Picture World announced that a director named Thompson—most likely either David or Frederick Thompson—would soon be making The Island of Regeneration with "Miss Storey" and "Mr. Moreno." However, Harry Davenport was the director of record.
According to the December 1915 Motion Picture Magazine, the island scenes were filmed at Oyster Bay on Long Island, NY. The film crew covered the trees with Spanish moss and added "a few palms and tropical plants to the landscape" to make it look like a South Sea island. The cave scenes and some of Edith Storey's water scenes were shot at the "Vitagraph yard and tank" at the company studios in Brooklyn, NY. "Most of these scenes were taken in zero weather, unfortunately," the magazine noted, "and Mr. [J. Stuart] Blackton had difficulty in preventing the vapor of the breath from registering when the players spoke the lines, for that would, of course, have spoiled the tropical effect. When the players spoke, they drew in their breaths instead of inhaling."
The 19 June 1915 Picture-Play Weekly ran a photo-illustrated, six-page short-story adaption from the scenario. The June 1915 Motion Picture Magazine ran its own "storyized" version of The Island of Regeneration, by a different writer, but taken "from the novel by Rev. Cyrus Townsend Brady."
The Island of Regeneration opened at the Vitagraph Theatre in New York on 31 Jan 1915. It was released by V-L-S-E, Inc. on 17 May 1915. Vitagraph re-released a re-edited version in 1920 and recopyrighted it under the number LP15221 on 7 Jun 1920.
The National Film Preservation Board (NFPB) included this film on its list of Lost U.S. Silent Feature Films as of January 2021.
John Charnock, a wealthy estate owner from Virginia, dies when his yacht, the Nansemond, catches fire in the South Pacific. Mrs. Charnock, her son John, and his collie drift to an uninhabited island, where she soon succumbs, leaving John alone. Twenty years later, wealthy Katherine Brenton, who thinks that men and women can have platonic friendships under any conditions, accepts clubman Valentine Langford's offer to test her theory. On his yacht in the South Pacific, Langford attacks her and Katherine knocks him cold. She escapes on a launch and lands on John's island, and over the next three years, she educates the bearded, childlike young man. She gradually falls in love and realizes the futility of her doctrines. When Langford's search boat arrives, he claims her because of the two weeks they spent on his yacht. John's love is shaken. Katherine goes to a secret cave to think, and John, believing that she has drowned, returns on a revenue cutter to Virginia to reclaim his family's estate. Langford finds Katherine and proposes. After Katherine refuses him, Langford leaves and tells John to return to the island. John finds Katherine and they return to America, ...
John Charnock, a wealthy estate owner from Virginia, dies when his yacht, the Nansemond, catches fire in the South Pacific. Mrs. Charnock, her son John, and his collie drift to an uninhabited island, where she soon succumbs, leaving John alone. Twenty years later, wealthy Katherine Brenton, who thinks that men and women can have platonic friendships under any conditions, accepts clubman Valentine Langford's offer to test her theory. On his yacht in the South Pacific, Langford attacks her and Katherine knocks him cold. She escapes on a launch and lands on John's island, and over the next three years, she educates the bearded, childlike young man. She gradually falls in love and realizes the futility of her doctrines. When Langford's search boat arrives, he claims her because of the two weeks they spent on his yacht. John's love is shaken. Katherine goes to a secret cave to think, and John, believing that she has drowned, returns on a revenue cutter to Virginia to reclaim his family's estate. Langford finds Katherine and proposes. After Katherine refuses him, Langford leaves and tells John to return to the island. John finds Katherine and they return to America, reunited.
Viewed by AFI
Partially Viewed
Offscreen Credit
Name Occurs Before Title
AFI Life Achievement AwardTOP SEARCHES
That Forsyte Woman
The working title for this film was The Forsyte Saga . According to a pre-release news item in Time magazine, M-G-M decided to change the title ... >>
The Terminator
A full-page advertisement in the 24 Feb 1984 DV announced the recent start of principal photography, referring to the film by its working title, Terminator. ... >>
Pretty Baby
The summary and note for this entry were completed with participation from the AFI Academic Network. Summary and note were written by participant Jeremy Carr, Visiting Research Fellow ... >>
