The Avalanche (1919 film)

The Avalanche
Newspaper advertisement (1919)
Directed by	George Fitzmaurice
Written by	Ouida Bergere (scenario)
Based on	The Avalanche: A Mystery Story by Gertrude Atherton
Produced by	Adolph Zukor Jesse L. Lasky
Starring	Elsie Ferguson Lumsden Hare Warner Oland Zeffie Tilbury
Cinematography	Arthur C. Miller
Production company	Famous Players–Lasky / Artcraft
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	June 22, 1919 (1919-06-22)
Running time	50+ minutes (5 reels at 5,273 ft)
Country	United States
Language	Silent (English intertitles)

The Avalanche is a 1919 American silent drama film about gambling directed by George Fitzmaurice who also served as the film's art director. William Scully was the assistant director to Fitzmaurice. The film stars Elsie Ferguson and Warner Oland. Ferguson plays a dual role in the film, portraying both mother and daughter.

This is the first film that teamed director Fitzmaurice and star Ferguson. Some scenes were filmed in Lake Placid, New York. Ferguson's gowns were by the designer Callot Soeurs.

Cast

• Elsie Ferguson as Chichita, Madame Delano, Helene
• Lumsden Hare as Price Ruyler
• Zeffie Tilbury as Mrs Ruyler
• Fred Esmelton as John Harvey
• William Roselle as Ferdie Derenforth
• Grace Field as Sybil Price
• Warner Oland as Nick Delano

Plot

After her father, the owner of a gambling house in Spain, is murdered and her husband, a hardened gambler, commits suicide, Chichita takes her little girl and abandons her in a convent. There, little Helene will be raised by the nuns until, fifteen years later, now grown up, the girl escapes.

She meets and marries novelist Price Ruyler. Soon domestic life bores the young bride who, in New York City, becomes fascinated by nightlife and gambling. One of the gambling saloons she frequents belongs to Nick Delano, Chichita's second husband. Helene, addicted to gambling, suffers heavy losses. She tries to cover them with her jewelry, even stealing money from her husband's wallet, but gets in over her head.

Her mother, who has recognized her, wants to help her but Delano, discovering the bond between the two women, telephones Price. Helene struggles with Delano, who accidentally falls from the balcony and dies. To protect her daughter, Mrs. Delano blames herself for her husband's death and, in prison, poisons herself.

Years later, sitting in front of a burning fireplace, Helene quietly embroiders while Price embraces her affectionately.

Elsie Ferguson and Lumsden Hare in The Avalanche

Preservation

With no prints of The Avalanche located in any film archives, it is considered a lost film. In February of 2021, the film was cited by the National Film Preservation Board on their Lost U.S. Silent Feature Films list.

See also

• List of lost films
• The House That Shadows Built, 1931 Paramount promotional film. A possibility that the Elsie Ferguson clip shown is from The Avalanche.

External links

• The Avalanche at IMDb
• The Avalanche at silentera.com
• Synopsis at AllMovie
• Elsie Ferguson and Lumsden Hare in a still photo from The Avalanche (Univ. of Washington, Sayre Collection)
• ELSIE FERGUSON IN THE AVALANCHE, SILENT FILM THEATER GLASS SLIDE 1919 LOST FILM
• The Avalanche: Directed by: George Fitzmaurice, USA, 1919
• Scene still with Elsie Ferguson and Warner Oland