Joseph in the Land of Egypt (1914)
released 1st February 1914
Cast:
James Cruze
Marguerite Snow
Lila Chester
Joseph in the Land of Egypt (1914)
Drama
52m
Thanhouser Film Corp
Director:
Eugene Moore
Writer:
Lloyd F. Lonergan
"Thanhouser's 'Joseph in the Land of Egypt' plays to a half-dollar audience" Trade ad, Moving Picture World, 1914
Eugene Moore’s Joseph in the Land of Egypt was the second of Thanhouser’s “Big Productions”, a series of prestige feature-length movies released on a monthly schedule. Studios spent heavily to promote such movies. Moviegoers had to pay an inflated price to see them (those wishing to see this film, for example, had to pay 50 cents: double the standard ticket-price at the time). They also offered Joseph in the Land of Egypt, which was filmed under the working title Joseph, Son of Jacob, to exhibitors with free music specially composed for the film by the Tams Music Library. Usually, accompanists would improvise music to suit a film, select well-known classical music, or use ‘cue’ sheets.
Thanhouser’s leading player James Cruze starred in the title role. Marguerite Snow played the wife of Potiphar, the captain of the Pharaoh’s guard, who unjustly accuses Joseph of molesting her. The film marked Snow’s return after a six-month hiatus. Publicity material claimed she had been ‘taking things easy’, but she had actually given birth to her first child with Cruze who, besides being her co-star, was also her husband. The couple divorced in 1923, and Snow would retire two years later after marrying the comedian Neely Edwards. By then, Cruze had forsaken his acting career to become a director.
Eugene Moore
James Cruze in Eugene Moore's Joseph in the Land of Egypt (1914)
After making a splash with the classic western The Covered Wagon (1923), he settled into a directing career of consistent mediocrity. He makes a rather doleful Joseph, particularly in the film’s early scenes in which, despised by his many brothers for being their father’s favourite, his vengeful siblings sell him to slave traders after first stripping him of his coat of many colours and throwing him into a pit. Cruze, never the most charismatic of screen stars, lacks the personality in the role of Joseph to project any spark of greatness within his character.
His captors sell Joseph to Potiphar, in whose home he becomes indispensable. He also catches the amorous eye of Potiphar’s wife. In the admitted showier role and dressed in provocative costumes, Snow makes a far stronger impression than Cruze. With palms horizontal to the ground in classic pose, her every expression conveys her thoughts and desires. Potiphar imprisons Joseph after she falsely accuses him of assaulting her for rejecting her amorous advances. However, in prison, his correct interpretation of two fellow prisoners’ dreams comes to the attention of the Pharaoh, who is troubled by dreams of his own. When Joseph correctly deciphers their meaning, the Pharaoh makes him ruler of all Egypt. Now in absolute power, he can gain his revenge on his treacherous brothers if he so wishes…
Joseph in the Land of Egypt is an earnest but stodgy biblical epic that sticks close to its source. The story, as with most biblical parables, provides plenty of potential for a dynamic tale, but Moore’s habit of filming in long takes drains it of energy. A vibrant lead under more vigorous direction might have salvaged something, but Cruze’s inability to dominate the screen means the film never connects with its audience.