The Trail of the Lonesome Pine
Encyclopedia
The Trail of the Lonesome Pine is a 1908
romance novel
/western
novel written by John Fox, Jr.
. The novel became Fox's most successful, and was included among the top ten list of bestselling novels for 1908 and 1909. The novel has been adapted numerous times for both stage and screen, the most notable being a 1916
silent Cecil B. DeMille
production and a 1936
adaptation helmed by Henry Hathaway
. The 1936 version, starring Sylvia Sidney
, Henry Fonda
, and Fred MacMurray
, was nominated for an Academy Award
for Best Original Song for Louis Alter
and Sidney D. Mitchell
's "A Melody for the Sky." It was also awarded the Venice Film Festival
Award for Best Color Film. Hathaway's version marked the first time the Technicolor
process was used for outdoor filmmaking.
The novel was adapted into a successful stage play by Earl Hobson Smith and Clara Lou Kelly. Since 1964, the play has been performed in an outdoor theater in Big Stone Gap, Virginia
, the hometown of the novel's author. It was designated the "official outdoor drama" by the Commonwealth of Virginia
in 1994.
at the turn of the twentieth century, a feud has been boiling for over thirty years between two influential mountain families: the Tollivers and the Falins. The character Devil Judd Tolliver, in the novel was based on the real life of John Wright, a United States Marshal for the region in and around Wise County, Virginia
, and Letcher County, Kentucky
. The outside world and industrialization, however, are beginning to enter the area. Coal mining begins to exert its influence on the area, despite the two families' feuds. Entering the area, enterprising "furriner" (foreigner) John Hale captures the attention of the beautiful June Tolliver, and inadvertently becomes entangled in the region's politics.
adaptation features an additional plot angle of Hale being a revenue agent seeking out "moonshine
rs." It also omitted much of the subplot concerning the Falin family. Henry Hathaway
's 1936 version, which was the first feature film to be filmed outdoors in full (three-strip) Technicolor
, remains relatively faithful to the original novel. At least three other major film adaptations exist with varying degrees of faithfulness to Fox's novel.
1908 in literature
The year 1908 in literature involved some significant new books.-New books:*Afawarq Gabra Iyasus - Libb Wolled Tārīk , the first novel in Amharic*Leonid Andreyev - The Seven Who Were Hanged...
romance novel
Romance novel
The romance novel is a literary genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries. Novels in this genre place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Through the late...
/western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
novel written by John Fox, Jr.
John Fox, Jr.
John Fox, Jr. was an American journalist, novelist, and short story writer.-Biography:Born in Stony Point, Bourbon County, Kentucky, to John William Fox, Sr., and Minerva Worth Carr, Fox studied English at Harvard University. He graduated in 1883 before becoming a reporter in New York City...
. The novel became Fox's most successful, and was included among the top ten list of bestselling novels for 1908 and 1909. The novel has been adapted numerous times for both stage and screen, the most notable being a 1916
1916 in film
The year 1916 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 17 - release of A Daughter of the Gods, the first US production with a million dollar budget, with the first nude scene by a major star....
silent Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies...
production and a 1936
1936 in film
The year 1936 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 29 - Fritz Lang's first Hollywood film Fury, starring Spencer Tracy and Bruce Cabot, is released.*November 6 - first Porky Pig animated cartoon...
adaptation helmed by Henry Hathaway
Henry Hathaway
Henry Hathaway was an American film director and producer. He is best known as a director of Westerns, especially starring John Wayne.-Background:...
. The 1936 version, starring Sylvia Sidney
Sylvia Sidney
Sylvia Sidney was an American actress who rose to prominence in the 1930s appearing in numerous crime dramas.-Early life:...
, Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
, and Fred MacMurray
Fred MacMurray
Frederick Martin "Fred" MacMurray was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 movies and a successful television series during a career that spanned nearly a half-century, from 1930 to the 1970s....
, was nominated for an Academy Award
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for Best Original Song for Louis Alter
Louis Alter
Louis Alter was an American pianist, songwriter and composer. Alter was 13 when he began playing piano in theaters showing silent films...
and Sidney D. Mitchell
Sidney D. Mitchell
Sidney D. Mitchell was a Hollywood film industry lyricist and composer. He is best known for his collaborations with Lew Pollack on movie scores at Twentieth Century Fox in the 1930s and 1940s...
's "A Melody for the Sky." It was also awarded the Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
Award for Best Color Film. Hathaway's version marked the first time the Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
process was used for outdoor filmmaking.
The novel was adapted into a successful stage play by Earl Hobson Smith and Clara Lou Kelly. Since 1964, the play has been performed in an outdoor theater in Big Stone Gap, Virginia
Big Stone Gap, Virginia
Big Stone Gap is a town in Wise County, Virginia, United States. The population was 5,643 at the 2010 census.-History:The community was formerly known as "Meneral City" and "Three Forks." The "Big Stone Gap" refers to the valley which has been created on the Appalachia Straight, located between...
, the hometown of the novel's author. It was designated the "official outdoor drama" by the Commonwealth of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
in 1994.
Plot summary
Set in the Appalachian MountainsAppalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
at the turn of the twentieth century, a feud has been boiling for over thirty years between two influential mountain families: the Tollivers and the Falins. The character Devil Judd Tolliver, in the novel was based on the real life of John Wright, a United States Marshal for the region in and around Wise County, Virginia
Wise County, Virginia
Wise County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. In 1856, the county was formed from land taken from Lee, Scott, and Russell Counties. It was named after Henry A. Wise, who was the Governor of Virginia at the time. As of 2010, the population was 41,452, making it the largest...
, and Letcher County, Kentucky
Letcher County, Kentucky
Letcher County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 25,277. Its county seat is Whitesburg. The county is named for Robert P...
. The outside world and industrialization, however, are beginning to enter the area. Coal mining begins to exert its influence on the area, despite the two families' feuds. Entering the area, enterprising "furriner" (foreigner) John Hale captures the attention of the beautiful June Tolliver, and inadvertently becomes entangled in the region's politics.
Novel vs. film adaptations
The 1916 DeMilleCecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies...
adaptation features an additional plot angle of Hale being a revenue agent seeking out "moonshine
Moonshine
Moonshine is an illegally produced distilled beverage...
rs." It also omitted much of the subplot concerning the Falin family. Henry Hathaway
Henry Hathaway
Henry Hathaway was an American film director and producer. He is best known as a director of Westerns, especially starring John Wayne.-Background:...
's 1936 version, which was the first feature film to be filmed outdoors in full (three-strip) Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
, remains relatively faithful to the original novel. At least three other major film adaptations exist with varying degrees of faithfulness to Fox's novel.
Film adaptations
- The Trail of the Lonesome Pine - 1914 version, directed by Frank L. Dear.
- The Trail of the Lonesome PineThe Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1916 film)The Trail of the Lonesome Pine is a 1916 drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. It is based on the novel of the same name. A surviving motion picture at George Eastman House, Rochester.-Cast:* Charlotte Walker - June Tolliver...
- 1916 version, directed by Cecil B. DeMilleCecil B. DeMilleCecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies...
. - The Trail of the Lonesome PineThe Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1923 film)The Trail of the Lonesome Pine is a 1923 silent drama film directed by Charles Maigne. It is based on the novel of the same name.-Cast:* Mary Miles Minter - June Tolliver* Antonio Moreno - John Hale* Ernest Torrence - 'Devil' Jud Tolliver...
- 1923 version, directed by Charles MaigneCharles MaigneCharles Maigne was an American screenwriter and film director of the silent era. He wrote for 32 films between 1916 and 1928...
. - The Trail of the Lonesome PineThe Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1936 film)The Trail of the Lonesome Pine is a 1936 romance film based on the novel of the same name. It was directed by Henry Hathaway. It was the second full length feature film to be shot in three-strip Technicolor and the first in color to be shot outdoors, with the approval of the Technicolor Corporation...
- 1936 version, directed by Henry HathawayHenry HathawayHenry Hathaway was an American film director and producer. He is best known as a director of Westerns, especially starring John Wayne.-Background:...
.