CAPTAIN SWIFT (1920) Bank Robber Earle and 50 similar items

Vintage original 11 x 14 in. US lobby card from the 1920's silent film crime drama, CAPTAIN SWIFT, released in 1920 by the Vitagraph Company of America and co-directed by Tom Terriss and Chester Bennett. Based upon the play by C. Haddon Chambers, when notorious bank robber Captain Swift (Earle Williams) is pursued by a posse, he switches clothing and identities with a dying prospector and escapes from Australia to England. Under an assumed name, he gains admittance to London society and falls in love with Stella Darbisher (Florence Dixon), a ward of Lord and Lady Seabrook (Downing Clarke and Adelaide Prince). One day, the banker whom Swift robbed in Australia appears and recognizes him, but, realizing that Swift has changed, the banker dismisses the charges against him. Swift then discovers that he is the son of Lady Seabrook and, cleared of all charges, he marries Stella. The image features an interior medium shot of the bank robber, Captain Swift (Earle Williams), held at gunpoint by a British police inspector. The caption in the lower right reads: "Captain Smith, I must hold you for that Australian robbery!" Printed for the film's original 1920 US theatrical release by Vitagraph, it is unrestored in fine- condition with corner pinholes with a few more in three of the four borders; a 0.75 in. vertical tear on the bottom border to the left of center; and random wear on the corners. The original theatrical version of Captain Swift opened in New York on November 28, 1898. Sir Herbert Tree starred in the London production, while Maurice Barrymore (the father of Ethel, John, and Lionel) played the title role in the first American production. In the film version, the prologue scenes depicting the Australian bush were shot near San Diego, California while rest of the film was shot at Vitagraph's Brooklyn studios. The Vitagraph Company of America, also known as the Vitagraph Studios , was a United States motion picture studio. It was founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York, as the American Vitagraph Company. By 1907 it was the most prolific American film production company, producing many famous silent films. It was bought by Warner Bros. in 1925. Charles Haddon Spurgeon Chambers (April 22, 1860 – March 28, 1921) was an Australia-born dramatist, active in England, and was professionally known as Haddon Chambers. In 1882, he moved to England; having no friends there, he had to try various occupations in order to make a living and he began writing. His first real success was a play entitled Captain Swift, which was produced by Beerbohm Tree at the Haymarket Theatre in the autumn of 1888. In the United States, Maurice Barrymore played Captain Swift on Broadway. This play had a good run and was played all over England, in America, and in Australia. The famous London-based Australian operatic soprano, Dame Nellie Melba, was his mistress for a number of years and their relationship ended in 1904 for reasons which remain unclear.