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University of North Carolina at
Asheville Book register for: Heart of the Blue Ridge Special Collections |
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| Title | Heart of the Blue Ridge (1915) | ||
| Identifier | http://toto.lib.unca.edu/findingaids/books/ebbs_eloise/default_ebbs_eloise_buckner.htm | ||
| Creator | Waldron Baily | ||
| Alt. Creator | Lewis Selznick | ||
| Subject Keyword | Western North Carolina ; Asheville, NC ; religion ; Southern Appalachians ; churches ; schools ; mountaineers ; silent film ; | ||
| Subject LCSH | Baily, Waldron Selznick, Lewis Asheville (N.C.) -- History North Carolina -- Social life and customs Appalachians (People) North Carolina -- Social conditions North Carolina -- Description and travel Asheville (N.C.) -- Description and travel |
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| Date | Date of object: 1915 ; Date digital: 2007-12-30 | ||
| Publisher | New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1915 | ||
| Contributor |
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| Type | Source type: text ; illustrations | ||
| Format | image/jpeg/text ; 275 p. front. 20 cm | ||
| Source | SpecColl PS3503.A535 H4 1915 | ||
| Language | English | ||
| Relation | E.M. Ball Photographic Collection, UNCA ; Southern Mountaineers Filmography at Appalachian State University. | ||
| Coverage | coverage temporal: 1929 ; coverage temporal: Wilkes County, N.C. ; western North Carolina | ||
| Rights | Any display, publication or
public use must credit D. H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections,
University of North Carolina at Asheville. Copyright retained by the authors of certain items in the collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law. |
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| Donor | Special Collections purchase | ||
| Description | The novel describes a rather
cloying romance of a young girl and her boy friend in Wilkes County,
North Carolina in the first years of the twentieth century. The heroine, Plutina Cox [possibly short for Penelope] and her lover Zeke proceed
through a series of misadventures, characterized by every stereotype of
Appalachia, imaginable. In a tale that spans the whole geography of the
state of North Carolina, the two do battle with moonshiners, convict
laborers, and "outsiders" of various description. Feuds of every kind
flare up throughout the novel and "unkindness to animals" seems to be the
signal that a protagonist will come to no good. From scenes of "damsel in
distress" from outlaws and lusting men to the final rescue from the
abductors and the reconciliation, the story unfolds with all the
requisites of a Hollywood action thriller. It is little wonder that
Lewis Selznick chose the novel for one of his films.
If Selznick sounds familiar, it is because Lewis was the father of David O. Selznick who directed Gone With the Wind, one of the greatest of "Southern" films. Unfortunately, Lewis, his father, expanded his film empire too quickly and by 1923 his company, World Film and Lewis Selznick Production, Inc., located in California, was no longer viable. In 1915 the company incorporated and with funding from Arthur Spiegel, of "Spiegel's Catalog, and Spiegel as a partner, the company reported a net profit of $329,000. After his move to California in 1922, Selznick joined forces with two other film entrepreneurs, Adolph Zukor and Jesse L. Lasky. It was this partnership that was not fruitful and Zukor soon broke with Selznick and the fracture resulted in considerable losses to the company. Apparently Heart of the Blue Ridge, and many of Lewis Selznick's other early films have been lost to time. Whether Selznick shot the film in North Carolina, is not known, but it would not have been surprising to find his company in the western part of the state, as there were several early silent films shot in the region, namely the Serpent (1912) and the Strength of Men (1913). Interestingly, Selznick's first real break into the film industry came as a result of his "getting the girl." He had convinced Clara Kimball Young, the star of Heart of the Blue Ridge to leave Vitagraph and to come with his company. Her popularity, he believed would assure him success with his ventures. It did for a while, until he apparently exploited the relationship and Young sued Selznick to annul her five year contract [NYT May 24, 1917] . Young starred in four films while under contract to Selznick with earnings reported at $800,000. The films, "The Common Law", "The Foolish Virgin,", "The Price She Paid," and "The Easiest Way," were filmed between October 15, 1916 and December 31, 1916 --- no small order for the company to complete! It is Clara Kimball Young who is seen in the stills in this book. |
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| Acquisition | n/a | ||
| Citation | Waldron Baily. Heart of the Blue Ridge, (1915), D. H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804 | ||
| Processed by | Special Collections staff, 2007 | ||
| Last update | 2007-12-30 | ||
| Biography | Born during the Reconstruction
period, in 1871 in Mount Kisco, New York, Waldron Baily and his family
moved to Elkin, North Carolina, where Waldron was later elected town
Mayor. He served in that office for two years and in 1902 he pursued
office as a State Senator. His novels had a popular appeal and attracted
the attention of director and filmmaker, Lewis J. Selznick, who produced
the
"Photoplay" [silent film] of Heart of the Blue Ridge in 1915
with actress Clara Kimball Young cast as the heroine, "Plutina." Baily's
novel was not the first southern writer to be committed to film, nor the
first film set in the Appalachians. In fact, the number of films set in the
Appalachians, is remarkable and goes back as early as 1904 with Wallace
McCutcheon's film, The Moonshiner, filmed in New Jersey. The Serpent,
filmed at Chimney Rock and Hickory Nut Gap in 19 and The
Strength of Men filmed in 1913 in various locations in western North
Carolina.
Lewis J. Selznick, the director and producer of the film version of Baily's novel, was a Russian Jew, born in Kiev in 1870. His fascination with film and his native talents (or, according to him --- lack of) soon allowed him to achieve a major position in the fledgling film-making industry in this country. He once said, "There's no business in the world in which a man needs so little brains as in the movies." The book, nor the movie, shows great intellectual prowess, but they do show enormous public appeal. Some things never change. Waldron Baily published his autobiography in 1958. See:
Autobiography; The Life Of The Novelist And Politician From North
Carolina. / Foreword By Frances Baily Morris, New York,
Exposition Press [1958].
PS3505.A535 Z5 |
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| [Cover] HEART OF THE BLUE RIDGE WALDRON BAILY |
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| Frontispiece: Heart of the Blue Ridge |
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[Notes on illustrations]: THE ILLUSTRATIONS SHOWN IN THE EDITION ARE REPRODUCTIONS OF SCENES FROM THE PHOTO-PLAY OF "HEART OF THE BLUE RIDGE." WITH CLARA KIMBALL YOUNG AS THE HEROINE, UNDER THE DIRECTION OF LEWIS J. SELZNICK, TO WHOM THE PUBLISHERS DESIRE TO EXPRESS THEIR THANKS AND APPRECIATION FOR PERMISSION TO USE THE PICTURES. |
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| Opposite Title Page:
Clara Kimball Young under the direction of Lewis J. Selznick. PLUTINA |
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| Title page HEART OF THE BLUE RIDGE BY WALDRON BAILY ILLUSTRATED WITH SCENES FROM THE PHOTO-PLAY, WITH CLARA KIMBALL YOUNG AS THE HEROINE , UNDER THE DIRECDTION OF LEWIS J. SELZNICK NEW YORK
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| Back of Title page "
COPYRIGHT, 1915 BY |
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| Dedication:
To Irving Bacheller with the Appreciation of the Author.
[Addison Irving Bacheller (September 26, 1859 – February 24, 1950) was an American journalist and writer who founded the first modern newspaper syndicate in the United States.] |
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| Chapter I - Page 1 |
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| Chapter I - Page 2 | |||
| Chapter II - Page 2 |
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| Chapter XXIII - Page 274 |
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| Chapter XXIII - Page 275 [END] |
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| Photographs | |||
| 1 | Clara Kimball Young under the direction of
Lewis J. Selznick THE LOVERS ON STONE MOUNTAIN. |
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| Clara Kimball Young under the direction of
Lewis J. Selznick A MOUNTAIN "STILL." |
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| Clara Kimball Young under the direction of
Lewis J. Selznick JOINES' MILL. |
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| Clara Kimball Young under the direction of
Lewis J. Selznick AFTER THE RAID. |
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| Clara Kimball Young under the direction of
Lewis J. Selznick BAD BLOOD BETWEEN RIVALS |
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| Clara Kimball Young under the direction of
Lewis J. Selznick WHEN ZEKE COMES HOME |
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| Clara Kimball Young under the direction of
Lewis J. Selznick.
THE COMING OF PEACE |
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| End papers. |
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