Mignon
Cast & Crew
William Nigh
Beatriz Michelena
Clara Beyers
William Pike
House Peters
Belle Bennett
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
The nobleman Lothario seduces Musette, the daughter of Giarno, the leader of the nearby gypsy camp. When Musette learns that Lothario is married and has a baby, Mignon, she jumps off a cliff. For revenge, Giarno kidnaps Mignon. After Lothario's wife dies of grief, Lothario becomes a mad, wandering minstrel. When Mignon is sixteen, the young nobleman Wilhelm Meister, seeing her mistreatment, buys Mignon from Giarno. Mignon falls in lvoe with Wilhelm, but she believes that he loves the actress Filina. At a fete, Filina locks Mignon, whom Lothario has befriended, into her room. Filina traps Wilhelm into proposing, but as he announces their engagement, Lothario, acting on Mignon's earlier suggestions, sets the castle on fire. Wilhelm rescues Mignon, but because she still believes that he loves Filina, she leaves with Lothario. When an innkeeper recognizes Lothario and shows him a piece of the baby Mignon's belt, Lothario's memory returns. As Mignon has the other piece, she is revealed to be his daughter. Wilhelm finds them, and he and Mignon vow to marry.
Director
William Nigh
Cast
Beatriz Michelena
Clara Beyers
William Pike
House Peters
Belle Bennett
Ernest Joy
Andrew Robson
Emil Krushe
Harold B. Meade
Frank Hollins
D. Mitsoras
Mrs. Frank Hollins
Baby Wallace
Rollin Warwick
George Cheseboro
Ted Edlin
Crew
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The opera Mignon was based on Wilhelm Meister's Lehrjahre (Germany 1795-96), by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The film was shot in the San Francisco region. Some scenes were shot in the homes of four millionaire directors of the California Motion Picture Co. At a private showing of the film on December 2, 1914 at the Hotel St. Francis in San Francisco, Beatriz Michelena sang operatic parts to accompany the film. Because of this, the Tivoli Opera House offered her $5,000 to sing during the week of the film's premiere, but she declined because of a contract for another film. The film was originally scheduled to be released by the Alco Film Corp., but Alco disbanded. Alexander E. Beyfuss, California's studio and general manager, was listed in reviews as the film's director. California Motion Picture Corp. studio records credit William Nigh as director. Among the many other versions, mostly filmed in Germany, of Goethe's novel or Thomas' opera is the 1975 German film Falsche Bewegung (The Wrong Movement) starring Rudiger Vogler and Hanna Schygulla and directed by Wim Wenders.
