Draft 258 Explained

Draft 258
Director:Christy Cabanne
Starring:Mabel Taliaferro
Walter Miller
Earl Brunswick
Cinematography:William E. Fildew
Editing:Mildred Richter
Studio:Metro Pictures
Distributor:Metro Pictures
Runtime:4 reels
Country:United States
Language:Silent (English intertitles)

Draft 258 is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Christy Cabanne. It stars Mabel Taliaferro, Walter Miller, and Earl Brunswick, and was released on November 15, 1917.[1]

Reception

The Times-Union called it a "big screen sensation", and applauded the re-enactments of the military engagements created by Cabanne.[2] The Deming Headlight praised it as "the finest war picture ever produced". They were complimentary of the photography, acting, with the latter being marked for realism, without the "sickening sentimentality that distinguishes so many of the screen productions of the present day."[3] The San Bernardino County Sun gave the film a positive review. They opined it was "a superb production suitable to its great central idea and its thrilling and absorbing story."[4]

Preservation

With no prints of Draft 258 located in any film archives,[5] it is a lost film.

Notes and References

  1. http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/D/DraftTwoFiftyEight1917.html Progressive Silent Film List: Draft 258
  2. News: Fine Film At Crescent . . November 24, 1917 . 5 . Newspapers.com. April 27, 2023.
  3. News: Hawkins Books Masterpiece . . November 16, 1917 . 3 . Newspapers.com. April 27, 2023.
  4. News: 'Draft 258' Today At the Temple, Last Time . . December 8, 1917 . 10 . Newspapers.com. April 27, 2023.
  5. http://lcweb2.loc.gov:8081/diglib/ihas/loc.mbrs.sfdb.4888/default.html Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: Draft 258