Cecil B. DeMille's CARMEN (1915) Geraldine and similar items

Vintage original Grossest Dunlap "Photoplay Edition" hardback book from the teens silent film drama, CARMEN, released in 1915 by Paramount Pictures and directed by Cecil B. DeMille. Published by Grosset Dunlap ,the front cover features a paper photograph affixed to the center that depicts opera singer Geraldine Farrar in the title role. It consists of 190 pages with full pages of black-and-white photographs featuring scenes from the film. It is in overall very good+ condition. Based on the novella, Carmen, by Prosper Mérimée, DeMille had intended to film a musical version of Georges Bizet's opera, Carmen, but its libretto was under copyright, so DeMille instructed his screenwriter brother William to base his scenario on the public domain novella instead. The novella's Carmen was more wilful and manipulative than the opera version. For instance, William included a cigarette factory fight scene from the book which was not found in the opera.. The existing versions of this film appear to be from the re-edited 1918 re-release. Carmen was praised as a "triumph of superb acting and magnificent scenery" in Motion Picture Magazine. "No small share of this artistic success is due to Mr. Wallace Reid's sympathetic interpretation of Don José," they added. "The Carmen film will, in its own way, stand alongside The Birth of a Nation as an epochmaker," Photoplay said in their review. One of their few complaints was on the film's faithfulness to Carmen's character of the Mérimée story. The New York Tribune described it as "The most interesting example of the new art of the photoplay. Miss Farrar's personality is admirably suited to the screen, and her facial expression was excellent." "Geraldine Farrar's 'Carmen' makes as dramatic an appeal to the eye as her voice ever did to the ear," said The San Francisco Call Post, "The resolution of Geraldine Farrar, the beautiful and gifted star, to employ her talents in the attaining of success in the films is one of the greatest steps in advancing the dignity of the motion pictures. Miss Farrar's 'Carmen' in the films is the greatest triumph the motion picture has yet achieved over the speaking stage." Geraldine Farrar came in fourth place in the 1916 "Screen Masterpiece" contest held by Motion Picture Magazine for her performance as Carmen, with 17,900 votes. She was the highest-ranking actress and was behind Francis X. Bushman in Graustark, Henry B. Walthall in The Birth of a Nation, and the number one winner, Earle Williams, in The Christian. Theda Bara's performance of the same role received 9,150 votes. Composer Hugo Riesenfeld arranged the orchestral score, his first of many for film, which was based on that of Bizet's opera. It was performed at the premiere and other prestigious screenings. There have been two restorations of Riesenfeld's score: the first was by Gillian Anderson, recorded with the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 1996. Timothy Brock recorded the second in 1997 with the Olympia Chamber Orchestra. Don José, an officer of the law, is seduced by the gypsy girl Carmen, in order to facilitate her clan's smuggling endeavors. Don José becomes obsessed, turning to violent crime himself in order to keep her attention.