St. Elmo is a 1914 American silent drama film produced by the Balboa
Amusement Producing Company and distributed by William Fox's Box Office
Attractions Company. It was the first feature-length film adaptation of
Augusta Jane Evans's 1866 eponymous novel. The story follows the life of
the title character (played by William Jossey), who kills his cousin
(Francis McDonald) over the love of Agnes (Madeline Pardee), falls from
grace, and eventually finds redemption and love with Edna (Gypsy
Abbott). It is disputed who directed the film; many sources credit
Bertram Bracken, while others list St. Elmo as J. Gordon Edwards's
directorial debut. Some reviewers praised the scenery and overall
production quality, considering the film an improvement over stage
adaptations of the novel. Others found the scenery irrelevant and the
story confusing. Despite mixed reviews, the film was financially
successful, reportedly setting box office records. The following year, a
film adaptation of an unrelated Evans novel, Beulah, was marketed as a
sequel. As with most Balboa films, St. Elmo is now believed lost.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Elmo_(1914_film)>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1664:
The Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot, the
forerunner to the Royal Marines, was established at the grounds of the
Honourable Artillery Company in London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Marines>
1835:
Māori chiefs signed the Declaration of the Independence of New
Zealand and established the United Tribes of New Zealand.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Tribes_of_New_Zealand>
1891:
The Nōbi Earthquake, Japan's strongest known inland
earthquake, struck the former provinces of Mino and Owari.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1891_Mino%E2%80%93Owari_earthquake>
1919:
The US Congress passed the Volstead Act over President Woodrow
Wilson's veto, reinforcing Prohibition in the United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volstead_Act>
1971:
Prospero, the only British satellite to date launched on a
British rocket, lifted off from Launch Area 5B at Woomera, South
Australia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prospero_(satellite)>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
greeking:
(typography) Nonsense text that is inserted into a document to create a
dummy layout, or to demonstrate a type font.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/greeking>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Apply just the right amount of force — never too much, never too
little. All of us know of people who have failed to accomplish what they
set out to do because of not properly gauging the amount of effort
required. At one extreme, they fall short of the mark; at the other,
they do not know when to stop.
--Jigoro Kano
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jigoro_Kano>