The Unknown (1915)
Adventure | 9 December 1915
Director:
George MelfordWriter:
Margaret TurnbullProduction Company:
Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Co.The 11 September 1915 Moving Picture World announced that director George Melford had begun filming The Red Mirage, based on the novel of the same title. The item added that, in order to capture the atmosphere of the Sahara Desert, "the entire company of fifty people, with eight camels, twenty horses and many pack burros, will go down to the Imperial Valley. Near the little town of Indio is a dried-out lake, 300 feet below the sea level, which will give a most realistic setting to these desert scenes. Water will be carried in true desert fashion in bags of sheep skin." A month later, Lasky changed the title from The Red Mirage to The Unknown, according to the 16 October 1915 Motion Picture News.
An Algerian village was built for The Unknown at the Lasky studios on Vine Street in Hollywood, CA, according to article on the studio in the April 1916 Picture-Play Magazine.
An item in the 6 November 1915 Motion Picture News noted that one of Lasky's regular supporting players, "Ramona," was one of the burros appearing in The Unknown.
The Unknown opened at the Broadway Theatre in New York City, the 18 December 1915 Moving Picture World reported. The 17 December 1915 Variety expressed surprise that two scenes were not censored and cut from the released motion picture: One was a "cooch" scene in which a scantily-clad woman performed such an erotic dance that the reviewer wondered if the extras might have paid for the privilege of being there; ...
The 11 September 1915 Moving Picture World announced that director George Melford had begun filming The Red Mirage, based on the novel of the same title. The item added that, in order to capture the atmosphere of the Sahara Desert, "the entire company of fifty people, with eight camels, twenty horses and many pack burros, will go down to the Imperial Valley. Near the little town of Indio is a dried-out lake, 300 feet below the sea level, which will give a most realistic setting to these desert scenes. Water will be carried in true desert fashion in bags of sheep skin." A month later, Lasky changed the title from The Red Mirage to The Unknown, according to the 16 October 1915 Motion Picture News.
An Algerian village was built for The Unknown at the Lasky studios on Vine Street in Hollywood, CA, according to article on the studio in the April 1916 Picture-Play Magazine.
An item in the 6 November 1915 Motion Picture News noted that one of Lasky's regular supporting players, "Ramona," was one of the burros appearing in The Unknown.
The Unknown opened at the Broadway Theatre in New York City, the 18 December 1915 Moving Picture World reported. The 17 December 1915 Variety expressed surprise that two scenes were not censored and cut from the released motion picture: One was a "cooch" scene in which a scantily-clad woman performed such an erotic dance that the reviewer wondered if the extras might have paid for the privilege of being there; the other was a whipping scene in which the hero received fifty lashes on the orders of his commanding officer.
Because Great Britain was involved in World War II, its Lord Chamberlain refused to allow The Unknown to be shown there, because of a scene in which a "French Royal Legion" officer struck a subordinate; it was "contrary to ethics," the 19 May 1916 Variety reported.
Another adaptation of Ida Alexa Ross Wylie's novel was produced by Universal Pictures in 1928. That film, titled The Foreign Legion, was directed by Edward Sloman and starred Norman Kerry and Lewis Stone (See Entry).
According to the Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database, this film is extant.
After a night of debauchery in Algiers, Richard Farquhar, the orphaned heir to a British fortune, is cut off from his allowance by his uncle. While mourning his loss in a café, Richard defends Nancy Preston, an American, against the insults of an Arab, and then, in an effort to reform himself, joins the Foreign Legion under an assumed name. "Devil" Destinn, the captain of his regiment, also fancies Nancy, and when he sees her with Richard, orders him into the desert to track down some Bedouin bandits. Angry at Destinn's treatment of Richard, the soldiers mutiny, tying up the captain and leaving him to die in the desert. Unaware of what has occurred, Richard releases Destinn, only to be accused later of leading the mutiny. Sentenced to die, Richard is rescued from jail by Nancy, but Destine catches him escaping. The captain lets the couple go, however, when he sees a Victoria Cross, his own, pinned on Richard, and realizes that his captive is actually his ...
After a night of debauchery in Algiers, Richard Farquhar, the orphaned heir to a British fortune, is cut off from his allowance by his uncle. While mourning his loss in a café, Richard defends Nancy Preston, an American, against the insults of an Arab, and then, in an effort to reform himself, joins the Foreign Legion under an assumed name. "Devil" Destinn, the captain of his regiment, also fancies Nancy, and when he sees her with Richard, orders him into the desert to track down some Bedouin bandits. Angry at Destinn's treatment of Richard, the soldiers mutiny, tying up the captain and leaving him to die in the desert. Unaware of what has occurred, Richard releases Destinn, only to be accused later of leading the mutiny. Sentenced to die, Richard is rescued from jail by Nancy, but Destine catches him escaping. The captain lets the couple go, however, when he sees a Victoria Cross, his own, pinned on Richard, and realizes that his captive is actually his son.
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