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Scenes from Chapter 18.
Photograph: Silent Era image collection.
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The Diamond from the Sky
Also known as O Outro Diamante in Portugal
(1915) United States of America
B&W : Serial / 30 chapters / 60 reels
Directed by William Dean Tanner (William Desmond Taylor) and Jacques Jaccard
Cast: Lottie Pickford [Esther Stanley], Irving Cummings [Arthur Stanley II, also known as John Powell], William Russell [Blair Stanley], Charlotte Burton [Vivian Marston], Eugenie Forde [Hagar Harding], George Periolat [Luke Lovell], Orral Humphrey [Marmaduke Smythe], W.J. Tedmarsh (William Tedmarsh) [Quabba, the hunchback], Hart Hoxie (Jack Hoxie) [Matt Hardigan], Lillian Buckingham, Jerry Ferragoma, George Field, Nell Franzen, Rhea Mitchell, Roy Stewart, Charles Watt
American Film Company, Incorporated, production. / From a novel by Roy L. McCardell. / 30 chapters (two reels each); [1] “The Heritage of Hate,” released 3 May 1915; [2] “An Eye for an Eye,” released 10 May 1915; [3] “The Silent Witness,” released 17 May 1915; [4] “The Prodigal’s Progress,” released 24 May 1915; [5] “For the Sake of a False Friend,” released 31 May 1915; [6] “Shadows at Sunrise,” released 7 June 1915; [7] “The Fox and the Pig,” released 14 June 1915; [8] “A Mind in the Past,” released 21 June 1915; [9] “A Runaway Match,” released 28 June 1915; [10] “Old Foes with New Faces,” released 5 July 1915; [11] “The Web of Destiny; or, Plaything of the Papoose,” released 12 July 1915; [12] “To the Highest Bidder,” released 19 July 1915; [13] “The Man in the Mask,” released 26 July 1915; [14] “For Love and Money,” released 2 August 1915; [15] “Desperate Chances,” released 9 August 1915; [16] “The Path of Peril,” released 16 August 1915; [17] “King of Diamonds and the Queen of Hearts,” released 23 August 1915; [18] “The Charm Against Harm,” released 30 August 1915; [19] “Fire, Fury and Confusion,” released 6 September 1915; [20] “The Soul Stranglers,” released 13 September 1915; [21] “The Lion’s Bride,” released 20 September 1915; [22] “The Rose in the Dust,” released 27 September 1915; [23] “The Double Cross,” released 4 October 1915; [24] “The Mad Millionaire,” released 11 October 1915; [25] “A House of Cards,” released 18 October 1915; [26] “The Garden of the Gods,” released 25 October 1915; [27] “Mine Own People,” released 1 November 1915; [28] “The Falling Aeroplane,” released 8 November 1915; [29] “A Deal with Destiny,” released 15 November 1915; [30] “The American Earl,” released 22 November 1915. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format.
Drama: Adventure.
Synopsis: [From American Film promotional materials (Chapters 1-17)] Col. Arthur Stanley and his cousin, Judge Stanley, Virginians, are bitter enemies over the possession of a wonderful diamond found centuries ago in a fallen meteor. To deceive his cousin, Col. Stanley buys a gypsy baby boy as an heir to the precious stone. He christens the false heir Arthur. Hagar, the gypsy mother, kidnaps Esther, Col. Stanley’s daughter, and “The Diamond From The Sky.” Years later, both are returned to Doctor Lee, who is Esther’s legal guardian. Over the possession of the jewel, wild adventures follow fast. Blair, the judge’s son, kills Doctor Lee and steals the diamond. Arthur Stanley is suspected. Arthur loves Esther. He goes to the far West, where he becomes immensely rich through vast oil fields which he owns under the name of John Powell. “The Diamond From The Sky” is lost and finally recovered by Esther. She and Quabba, her hunchback protector, have gone West in search of Arthur. On Arthur’s palatial yacht, Esther encounters Blair, who, with Luke Lovell and Vivian Marston, the adventuress, seeks the jewel. Blair attempts to jerk the diamond from Esther’s neck. She thwarts him by plunging headlong into the deep, cold waters of the bay. / Synopsis of Chapter 18 — “The Charm Against Harm.” Esther is rescued by Quabba, who carries her safely to shore. On the deck of Arthur’s yacht, Blair and Luke Lovell engage in a mighty struggle. Lokced in a fighting clinch, both fall into the water. Blair deals Luke a cruel blow in the face and swims back to the yacht’s ladder. With much difficulty, Luke reaches shore. Arthur, at the mines, learns of Esther’s presence in the west and goes at once to seek her. Meanwhile, Quabba and Esther in the mountains, have gone to the town of Mammoth, where Peter Huff is proprietor of a notorious resort known as “Pete’s Palace.” Frank Durand, “The King of Diamonds” also reaches “Pete’s Palace”, where Luke Lovell has obtained employment. At length come Arthur and Marmaduke Smythe. Esther and Quabba have entered the resort to obtain the necessary nourishment. A half-drunk cowboy offers insult to Esther. Luke Lovell steps in. A free-for-all fight follows, the drink-crazed men and women struggling about and in all parts of the spacious hall. Arthur sees Esther’s peril and leaps into the fray. He deals about him right and left with telling effect, but the odds are against him. The surging crowd crashes into one of the walls of the structure. The wall gives way. The building falls. Arthur and most of the struggling crowd are buried beneath the fallen timbers.
Survival status: The film is presumed lost.
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Keywords: Gypsies - Serials - Transportation: Airplanes, Trains
Listing updated: 5 May 2020.
References: Ball-Shakespeare pp. 339, 386; Lahue-Bound pp. 49, 72; Lahue-Continued pp. 6, 31-32, 62f, 161-162, 284; Stedman-Serials p. 35; Tarbox-Lost pp. 11, 230, 231 : Website-IMDb; Website-SerSq.
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