The Log Cabin - 1936
ABOUT THE FILM : The Log Cabin
Scottish Screen Archive - National Library of ScotlandYear: 1936
A little family peacefully settles down in front of their log cabin. The woman knits, the husband smokes a pipe, the baby falls asleep. But the Indians are coming! An arrow nearly misses the baby's basket. The family takes cover inside the cabin. Running out of ammo, the man is wounded. The Indians whoop for joy. Fortunately, four cowboys, relaxing not far from there, come to help the family in danger…
This western is directed by the prolific amateur filmmaker Frank Marshall, and stars his own children.
Nationality: Scottish
Actor: Arthur R. Smith
Length: 6' 27"
Genre: western
Sound: silent with soundtrack
Original elements: colour
Composer: Fabien Cali
Original language: English
A BRIEF HISTORY : The Log Cabin
In the 1930s, amateur filmmaking became ever more popular in Scotland, thanks especially to the Scottish Amateur Film Festival. This competition, devoted to passionate filmmakers and created in 1933, was held every year until the 1980s, and became a reference for amateur filmmaking. Each year the jury was presided by a professional filmmaker, such as Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980) and Michael Powell (1905-1990).
Among these amateur filmmakers is Frank Marshall (1896-1979), who directed The Log Cabin in 1936. Marshall began to shoot in 1932 using a 16 mm camera. This format featuring practical handling proved far less expensive than 35 mm. Until his death in 1979 he was to make some hundred and twenty amateur films of outstanding technical quality, for which he received countless awards. Today, this work is not only of artistic value but equally of remarkable cultural and sociological interest.
The Log Cabin fully illustrates the challenges of amateur filmmaking. The film is shot in a non-commercial, family setting. As often the case in Frank Marshall's films, it is the filmmaker's own family that is in front of the camera. In this particular case, his daughter Muriel plays the part of the wife being attacked by three Indians, one of whom is his son Nairn. But unlike a simple family film, the action is scripted. The story thus appears as a constructed narrative, notably thanks to the use of alternate editing to maintain the suspense connected with the arrival of the cowboys.
For forty years, Frank Marshall was to be one of the most eminent figureheads of Scottish cinema. During World War II, he supported the war effort by directing films for the government (eg. ARP: A Reminder for Peacetime). In 1949, he was to become the first president of the Scottish Association of Amateur Cinematographers, and sat on the Scottish Film Council until 1972.
The original music for this film was composed by Fabien Cali in 2011 in the context of the call for proposals launched in partnership with the Sacem (Société des auteurs compositeurs et éditeurs de musique &ndash Society of authors, composers and music editors).
