The Diamond from the Sky

1915 American film

The Diamond from the Sky

Movie poster

Directed by| Jacques Jaccard
William Desmond Taylor
Written by| Roy L. McCardell
Starring| Lottie Pickford
Irving Cummings
William Russell

Production
company

American Film Manufacturing Company \- Flying "A" Studios

Distributed by| American Film Manufacturing Company

Release date

* May 3, 1915 (1915-05-03) (episode one)

Running time

| 900 minutes
(30 episodes)
Country| United States
Language| Silent (English intertitles)
Budget| $800,000[1]

The Diamond from the Sky is a 1915 American silent adventure-film serial directed by Jacques Jaccard and William Desmond Taylor and starring Lottie Pickford, Irving Cummings, and William Russell.

No copies of this serial's "chapters" have been found, so the overall production is currently classified as a lost film.[2]

## Plot

[edit]

The prologue in the serial's first episode, "A Heritage of Hate", depicts the discovery of a spectacular diamond inside a meteorite, a gem that later becomes the property of the Stanley family, who call their heirloom "The Diamond From the Sky". The remainder of the first chapter portrays the intense rivalry between Colonel Arthur Stanley and Judge Lamar Stanley, Virginia aristocrats and descendants of Lord Arthur Stanley, 200 years later.

When a girl is born to the young wife of Colonel Arthur Stanley, the latter, to retain an earldom and "The Diamond From the Sky," buys a new born Gypsy baby boy and substitutes it for his own babe. Judge Lamar Stanley visits Colonel Arthur Stanley's home to see the child just as Hagar, the gypsy woman, bursts into the room to demand her boy, and the colonel falls unconscious across the library table.

## Cast

[edit]

* Lottie Pickford as Esther Stanley, the Gypsy Heroine. The role was originally offered to her sister Mary Pickford.[3]
* Irving Cummings as Arthur Stanley II
* William Russell as Blair Stanley
* Charlotte Burton as Vivian Marston
* Eugenie Forde as Hagar Harding
* George Periolat as Luke Lovell
* Orral Humphrey as Marmaduke Smythe
* William Tedmarsh as Quabba, the Hunchback
* Hart Hoxie as Matt Hardigan
* George Field
* Rhea Mitchell
* Nell Franzen
* Roy Stewart
* Charles Watt

## Chapter titles

[edit]

Lottie Pickford (left), Irving Cummings, and Charlotte Burton in one "chapter" from The Diamond from the Sky Promotional banner for the serial and its $10,000 prize at a theater in Rockwall, Texas, 1915 or 1916.

1. A Heritage of Hate
2. An Eye For An Eye
3. The Silent Witness
4. The Prodigal's Progress
5. For The Sake of A False Friend
6. Shadows at Sunrise
7. The Fox and The Pig
8. A Mind In The Past
9. A Runaway Match
10. Old Foes With New Faces
11. The Web of Destiny
12. To The Highest Bidder
13. The Man In The Mask
14. For Love And Money
15. Desperate Chances
16. The Path of Peril
17. The King of Diamonds and the Queen of Hearts
18. The Charm Against Harm
19. Fire, Fury And Confusion
20. The Soul Stranglers
21. The Lion's Bride
22. The Rose In The Dust
23. The Double Cross
24. The Mad Millionaire
25. A House of Cards
26. The Garden of The Gods
27. Mine Own People
28. On the Wings of the Morning
29. A Deal With Destiny
30. The American Earl

## Production notes

[edit]

* The serial's overall storyline was purposely left unfinished in the same manner as The Million Dollar Mystery. A prize of $5,000 was offered for its completion, which was won by Terry Ramsaye.[4]
* While on location during the production of the "continued photoplay", director William Desmond Taylor was nearly electrocuted by an exposed power line. The trade magazine Motion Picture News reported the near tragedy in its August 7, 1915, issue:

> W. D. Taylor, director of "The Diamond from the Sky," the North American Film Corporation's $800,000 continued photoplay, had a narrow escape from death a few days ago, when he accidentally stepped on a heavy charged electric wire. The members of the company were at work in a tunnel, in which one of the scenes takes place, when Taylor, walking in advance of the players, stepped on the wire, which was uncovered. Luckily, a physician employed in the mining camp nearby had come over to watch the taking of the scene. He offered immediate assistance.[1]

## See also

[edit]

* List of film serials
* List of film serials by studio
* List of lost films
* Sequel to the Diamond from the Sky (1916)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Director Taylor Has Narrow Escape In 'Diamond' Episode", Motion Picture News (New York, N.Y.), August 7, 1915, p. 60, col. 1. Internet Archive, San Francisco, California. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
2. ^ "Progressive Silent Film List: The Diamond from the Sky". silentera.com. Retrieved 2008-02-18.
3. ^ Stedman, Raymond William (1971). "2. The Perils of Success". Serials: Suspense and Drama By Installment. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-8061-0927-5.
4. ^ Lahue, Kalten C. "1. A Bolt From The Blue". Continued Next Week. p. 66.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Diamond from the Sky.

* The Diamond from the Sky at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by William Desmond Taylor

* The Diamond from the Sky (1915)
* A Woman Scorned (1915)
* He Fell in Love with His Wife (1916)
* Ben Blair (1916)
* The Heart of Paula (1916)
* Pasquale (1916)
* The American Beauty (1916)
* Davy Crockett (1916)
* The Parson of Panamint (1916)
* The House of Lies (1916)
* Her Father's Son (1916)
* Redeeming Love (1916)
* Happiness of Three Women (1917)
* Out of the Wreck (1917)
* The World Apart (1917)
* Big Timber (1917)
* The Varmint (1917)
* Jack and Jill (1917)
* Tom Sawyer (1917)
* The Spirit of '17 (1918)
* Huck and Tom (1918)
* Up the Road with Sallie (1918)
* His Majesty, Bunker Bean (1918)
* Mile-a-Minute Kendall (1918)
* How Could You, Jean? (1918)
* Johanna Enlists (1918)
* Captain Kidd, Jr. (1919)
* Anne of Green Gables (1919)
* Huckleberry Finn (1920)
* Judy of Rogue's Harbor (1920)
* Nurse Marjorie (1920)
* Jenny Be Good (1920)
* The Soul of Youth (1920)
* The Furnace (1920)
* The Witching Hour (1921)
* Sacred and Profane Love (1921)
* Wealth (1921)
* Beyond (1921)
* Morals (1921)
* The Green Temptation (1922)
* The Top of New York (1922)

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Jacques Jaccard

* The Call of the Traumerei (1914)
* The Diamond from the Sky (1915)
* A Knight of the Range (1916)
* Stampede in the Night (1916)
* The Night Riders (1916)
* The Passing of Hell's Crown (1916)
* The Adventures of Peg o' the Ring (1916)
* The Wedding Guest (1916)
* Liberty (1916)
* The Red Ace (1917)
* The Lion's Claws (1918)
* 'If Only' Jim (1920)
* The Great Alone (1922)
* Riders of the Plains (1924)
* Unseen Hands (1924)
* The Fire Fighters (1927)
* The Hawk (1931)

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