The Prairie | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Frank Wisbar |
Written by | Arthur St. Claire |
Based on | the novel The Prairie by James Fenimore Cooper |
Produced by | Edward F. Finney |
Cinematography | James S. Brown Jr. |
Music by | Alexander Steinert |
Production company | Zenith Pictures |
Distributed by |
Screen Guild Productions Falcon Films [1] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 65 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $120,000 [2] [3] or $200,000 [4] |
The Prairie is a 1947 American Western film based on the novel The Prairie by James Fenimore Cooper.
The film was made by a new company, a co-operative venture between director Frank Wisbar, production manager Edward Finney and writer Arthur St Claire. The financed, cast and made the picture themselves. [3] Reportedly Wisbar raised some finance from his family back in Germany. [4]
It was shot at a new studios, the Motion Picture Center, over 12 days at an estimated $10,000 a day. [3]
"This is an interesting, a desperate, attempt to break the deadlock on independent production", said Wisbar. "The other boys and I made up our minds to finance, cast and film a picture as well as it could be done, without interference from the "front office", distributors, or anyone else. We did this knowing a low budget can be – and usually is – the ruin of a good picture. I know. I've made them; bad ones." [3]
Wisbar said they picked Cooper's novel because it was in the public domain and also "because it keeps the rootin', tootin', and shootin' to a minimum and stresses the human element, the story of a man who was a law unto himself. We wrote our script straight, cutting out every scene that was not absolutely necessary." [3]
Wisbar said the film was made in a style that was "realistic but stylised. Camera treatment is modern in what I would call highly poetic." [3]
The film marked the acting debut for Robert Mitchum's brother John. [5]
The Los Angeles Times said "I wish I could say the film makes some claim on artistry." [6]
Associated Producers Inc announced a new version of the book would be filmed on 2 March 1959 but it appears to have not been made. [7]