James Oliver Curwood

The Alaskan Annotated James Oliver Curwood

The Alaskan is a lost 1924 silent adventure drama based on a novel by James Oliver Curwood set in northwoods country as his novels tend to be. In this case Alaska. The film was produced and released by Paramount Pictures and directed by Herbert Brenon. The picture stars Thomas Meighan, Estelle Taylor and an early role by Anna May Wong. This story opens with a young woman who voyages alone into the wilds of Alaska to escape her tragic past. It then continues on to a young man who passionately protects the pristine environment, people and way of life in this snowbound country. Finally, a greedy profiteer arrives in the narrative whose only aim is to fill his pockets. When these three characters encounter each other on the stark and snowy plains, it's a clash of ideals and the sparks begin to fly. The Alaskan by James Oliver Curwood is one of his very engaging adventure romance conservationist stories and was an instant bestseller, like most of his books, when it was first published in 1923. Curwood was a highly successful writer in the early part of the twentieth century and was in fact, the best paid writer in the world at his time. His books were wildly popular and have been adapted for screen, stage, television and radio. Though he was a high school drop out, he wrote and passed a university entrance exam that gave him entry into the University of Michigan's English department. He studied journalism and discovered his writing talents when he worked on a Detroit newspaper.