The Goose Woman
1925 film
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The Goose Woman is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Clarence Brown and starring Louise Dresser with Jack Pickford as her son. The film was released by Universal Pictures.[1]
Melville W. Brown (scenario)
Frederica Sagor (uncredited scenario)
Dwinelle Benthall (intertitles)
| The Goose Woman | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Clarence Brown |
| Written by | Rex Beach (story) Melville W. Brown (scenario) Frederica Sagor (uncredited scenario) Dwinelle Benthall (intertitles) |
| Produced by | Universal Pictures |
| Starring | Louise Dresser Jack Pickford Constance Bennett |
| Cinematography | Milton Moore |
| Edited by | Ray Curtiss |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 8 reels at 2,286 feet |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
The Rex Beach short story is based in part on the then already sensational Hall–Mills murder case in which a woman named Jane Gibson is described as a pig woman because of the pigs she raised on her property.[1]
Plot
As described in a film magazine reviews,[2] opera singer Mary Holmes loses her voice as a result of giving birth to a boy, and develops an intense dislike of her offspring. She becomes a victim of drink, living alone in a shabby cottage and raises geese. Her son wins the love of Hazel Woods, a young actress, who repulsed the vicious advances of a millionaire theatre-owner. The latter is murdered. To gain publicity, Mary invents a wild story about having witnessed the murder. The district attorney furnishes her with fine clothes, reveals her identity as a former stage star, and she is the sensation of the day. However, the details she concocts about the crime cause her son's arrest. Confronted with him, she experiences a sudden awakening of mother-love and confesses that her story is false. It transpires that the theatre doorman is the guilty person. The son is cleared and faces a happy future with his reformed parent and Hazel.
Cast
- Louise Dresser as Marie de Nardi/Mary Holmes
- Jack Pickford as Gerald Holmes
- Constance Bennett as Hazel Woods
- George Cooper as A Reporter
- Gustav von Seyffertitz as Mr. Vogel
- George Nichols as Detective Kelly
- Marc McDermott as Amos Ethridge
- Spottiswoode Aitken as Jacob Rigg
- James O. Barrows as Unidentified role
- Kate Price as Matron
Reception
Both critics and audiences favorably received the film.[citation needed] The Goose Woman was remade in 1933 as The Past of Mary Holmes featuring Helen MacKellar and Jean Arthur.[3]
