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Sidney Olcott, the First Eye | ||||||
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August 30, 2025
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Who
is the favorite St Joseph portrayal ? Who is the best interpreter of Saint
Joseph, the husband of Mary, the father of Jesus Christ?
This is the question posed by a video posted on YouTube
entitled: ST JOSEPH IN CINEMA HISTORY. It was produced and
uploaded by St. Joseph, who runs this YouTube channel,
whose objective, according to the author the goal of this
apostolate is simple : "to make St. Joseph better
known and loved. This channel has a bit of everything:
videos on the life of St. Joseph (chapters taken from my
book, The Book of Joseph), St. Joseph miracles, prayers,
litanies, novenas, devotions, interviews with fellow
devotees, Papal documents on St. Joseph, 2nd class
relics, apparitions, reflections, as well asmembers-only
vids."
So everyone is invited to give their favorite Joseph in the
comments section of the YouTube page. When he discovers that Mary is pregnant : "Then Joseph her husband, being a just man... was minded to put her away privily" (Matt I:19) ; "The angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream... (Matt I:20) ; "And she brought forth her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger" (Luke II:7)  The video's structure is simple. It compiles sequences from films about Christ, including Joseph, the husband of the Virgin Mary. "From the earliest silent films to the digital age, filmmakers have continually returned to Joseph’s character, uncovering fresh dimensions of this often-overlooked patriarch. Spanning more than a century—from 1898 to 2025—the cinematic history of St. Joseph reflects not only the evolution of filmmaking, but also the growing depth and nuance of his on-screen presence."  "And the child grew and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom :a nd the grace of God was upon him." (Luke II:40) ; "And when he was twelve years old yhey went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast." (Luke II:42) ; "...they foung him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions." (Luke II:46) The excerpt concerning FROM THE MANGER TO THE CROSS begins at 5:20 and lasts until 7:05. It shows Joseph (Montague Sidney) in his doubtful workshop, when he sees his young pregnant wife pass by; Joseph awakened by the Angel who explains the situation to him; Mary (Gene Gauntier), Joseph and the baby Jesus (a little Australian) in the manger with the donkey and the ox; Mary reading a text to the baby Jesus (George Hollister Jr.), while Joseph looks on; Mary holding the halter of a donkey carrying the 12-year-old Jesus (Percy Dyer), followed by Joseph on his way to Jerusalem; Jesus at the Temple with the high priests; Joseph on the road with caravans looking for the child they left in the Temple; Mary and Joseph on the steps of the Temple with Jesus (aged 12), whom they have just recovered... What's missing, however, is the flight into Egypt and the premonitory shot of Jesus leaving his father's workshop, a plank over his shoulder, proudly watched by his parents while the shadow on the ground represents a cross. According to @ToTheeOBlessedJoseph, the site administrator, Joseph is played by Montague Sidney. Who is he? The film doesn't say, but that's not its purpose. It doesn't give any further details about the other Josephs. I couldn't find any biographical information about him. His IMDB profile lists him as an actor, and it only includes one film: FROM THE MANGER TO THE CROSS. The same goes for the British Film Institute profile. Gene Gauntier doesn't mention him in Blazing the Trail; neither does Robert Henderson Bland in Actor, Soldier & Poet; nor does J.P. McGowan in a long article published in Motion Picture Story Magazine in August 1912, pp. 32-37. There are also very few traces in the American, English, and Australian newspapers that I was able to consult. Just one article published by The Moving Picture World, dated June 22, 1912, pp. 1119-20, and titled "Kalem in Palestine." The weekly interviewed Frank J. Marion, who had just returned from London where he met Sidney Olcott, to discuss the expedition to Egypt and Palestine. And especially to discuss this film about Christ, which was not part of Kalem's initial plans. The boss replied that : "...there is not much to say at this time. We will know more about it when the negatives arrive. From the information we have received here a great amount of valuable material has been secured. The company has visited the actual scenes described in Biblical history, as nearly as nearly as they are known at the present day, the idea being to portray the human side of Christ. We have made no attempt to picture the miracles of Christ. The production cannot fail to be one of the widest interest." On the other hand, Marion provided the trade journal with six photos taken there, including at least two featuring Montague Sidney. The first was taken on the liner taking the British actors to Alexandria (Egypt), a classic onion row for the team; the second, part of the troupe in front of the Fast Hotel in Jerusalem, where the Kalemites were staying.  Pictured on the left (front row, left to right): Helene Lindroth, Percy Dyer, X, X, and Sidney Olcott; (back row) Robert Henderson Bland and then Montague Sidney; the other actors have not been identified. Pictured on the right (and left to right): X, Percy Dyer, Robert Henderson Bland, and Montague Sidney. In the caption of the photo on the right, The Moving Picture World tells us: "Montague Sidney, on right, wearing fez, Mr. Sidney has been on the vaudeville stage in England for a number of years." That's it. It's short! The trade magazine doesn't tell us what role the Englishman will play. Kalem didn't credit anyone in the credits for FROM THE MANGER TO THE CROSS. Complete credits do exist, however. They were published by... three American newspapers, no more: The Carson City Daily Appeal (Nevada) (May 2, 1913, p. 1); The Hot Springs New Era (Arkansas) (May 28, 1913, p. 8); and The Durant Daily Democrat (Oklahoma) (October 27, 1913, p. 5). Who wrote it? It's a mystery. Most of the texts announcing film screenings are generally provided by theater managers. Or by the state rights holder, as seems to be the case in California and Arizona, where the introductory article is strictly the same in all the daily newspapers in these two states. Well! Montague Sidney is not listed in these credits, which display 36 names. Jack J. Clark is. This is not a clear error, since the young leading man did indeed play Joseph at the foot of the pyramids, under the gaze of the Sphinx, in the major scenes of the Flight into Egypt. Montague Sidney and the other British actors had not yet been hired. Perhaps the Kalemite even shot all the scenes involving Joseph. He plays the apostle John in the rest of the film, and Joseph was dead when the Evangelist enters the scene. Montague Sidney undoubtedly played another role, otherwise why would Olcott have brought him in? But which one? It's a mystery. It is very difficult to identify grime actors with beards and wigs. The list of compiled films: Sorry for my English Complementary articles Olcott
Uses James Tissot's Bible As a Storyboard On
the trail of Olcott in Egypt and Palestine Henderson-Bland,
Olcott's Christ is not who one thinks
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Archives The Cinémathèque française screens a film by
Sidney Olcott (bis) The Cinémathèque française screens a film by Sidney Olcott When J. P. McGowan claims Paternity of From the Manger to the Cross A Daughter of Old Ireland Olcott's forgotten film The
Humming Bird released in Finland and
Brazil but not in France Olcott : "I can
be reached at Hollywood Athletic Club" Stan Laurel parodies Rudolph Valentino in Monsieur Don't Care A sequence of Monsieur Beaucaire in the biopic Valentino (1951) "The Paymaster" the first role of Gene Gauntier at the movies Sidney Olcott working in the studio sets Behind « Singing in the Rain », «Monsieur Beaucaire » Sidney Olcott directs cartoons In Los Angeles, Gene Gauntier meets her old Kalem friends Films directed by Sidney Olcott still extant Two Olcott among the fifty favorite movies of DW Griffith In Hollywood, Sidney Olcott is the king of the move Anthony Slide writes a new chapter on the O'Kalems Malcolm Lowry, Robert Desnos and Sidney Olcott In the set of Monsieur Beaucaire, speak French please ! The Death certificate of Gene Gauntier in Cuernavaca Dead in Mexico, Gene Gauntier is buried in Sweden "Egypt as it Was in the Time of Moses" on YouTube Olcott shoots " The Amateur Gentleman " in a lawyer house A picture of Valentine Grant, girl On RTE Radio, Tony Tracy tells the story of The O'Kalems In the Archives of RTE, the epic of the O'Kalems Robert Vignola tells the circumstances of Olcott's death On the trail of Olcott in Egypt and Palestine Henderson-Bland,
Olcott's
Christ is not who one thinks Philly, le domestique d'Olcott disparaît en Egypte. Assassiné ? Finally, Sidney Olcott's grave is in Toronto ! I saw its still Gene Gauntier is the stepsister of one of the richest men Happy Birthday, Miss Valentine Grant In Olcott's Building, the
Heiress of a Newfound Oild Tycoon Strangled |
| ©2009 Michel Derrien | |
