| The Lady of Red Butte | |
|---|---|
 Newspaper advertisement, September 1919 | |
| Directed by | Victor Schertzinger |
| Written by | C. Gardner Sullivan |
| Produced by | Thomas H. Ince |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | John Stumar |
| Edited by | Ralph Dixon |
Production company | Thomas H. Ince Corporation |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
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| Country | United States |
| Languages | Silent English intertitles |
The Lady of Red Butte is a 1919 AmericansilentWestern film written byC. Gardner Sullivan and directed byVictor Schertzinger.Dorothy Dalton stars as a benevolent saloonkeeper in conflict with a fanatical religious zealot played byThomas Holding. It is not known whether the film currently survives,[1] and it may be alost film.
Faro Fan inherits a saloon and gambling hall in Red Butte and runs it with such wholesomeness that she has a positive influence on the peaceful town. Fan also devotes her time to the care of a group of orphans she has adopted.[2][3] Everything is peace and harmony when an evangelist, Webster Smith, arrives in Red Butte. "Fanatically devout, crack-brained and believing every word of his intolerant dogma, he calls forth a curse on the gambling house and all who are in it."[3] A fever strikes the town's inhabitants, and Smith takes credit for it. Smith then prays for a fire to cleanse the town and destroy every building except the church as a sign of his wrath and mercy. A fire does sweep through the town, but it destroys Webster's church and every other building in Red Butte except Faro Fan's saloon.[4] The salvation of the gambling house sends the religious fanatic into a rage, and he attacks the Lady of Red Butte. She hits him on the head, and his sanity is restored. He then becomes the personification of love and kindliness and later wins the Lady's heart.[5]
For the scene showing the destruction of Red Butte, an entire western street was built of solid lumber and then burned to the ground at a cost of several thousand dollars.[6] The village was two blocks long with buildings on both sides of the street. It was built atInceville on a high elevation far from all other buildings so the flames would not spread to other property.[6] TheSanta Monica Fire Department and one chemical wagon fromLos Angeles Fire Department were on hand to prevent the flames spreading to the shrubbery and timber on the mountains.[6] WhenThomas H. Ince gave the word, the fire was ignited, and the flames were "fanned into a fury by three huge wind machines."[6] Between the walls of roaring flames, Dorothy Dalton, Thomas Holding and the two hundred players acted several dramatic scenes, as seven cameras shot the action under the direction of Victor L. Schertzinger and the supervision of Ince.
According to the critic for theWaterloo Times, Sullivan's screenplay "is filled with situations of an unusual character."[4] The reviewer for theLethbridge Herald noted, "A remarkable cast was chosen by Thomas H. Ince for the presentation of C. Gardner Sullivan's latest photoplayThe Lady of Red Butte."[7] Focusing on Dalton's performance, another reviewer wrote: "Dorothy Dalton comes back in the style of role which made her famous early in her screen career, that of a western girl untutored to a large extent, living amid rugged surroundings, but developing a finesse in her inner nature that renders her entirely lovable despite her somewhat uncouth exterior."[2]
