bjgreen
By Betsy J. Green
The silent film “The Quest,” was released on March 22, 1915. In some ways, the theme for this movie seems like it would have fit quite well in the 1960s. It takes place in the present day on an island that time forgot. A wealthy young man is shipwrecked and ends up on this island inhabited by folks who look like they are wearing costumes from a high school production of Julius Caesar. At first, he can’t wait to escape, but eventually he falls in love with a young lady, and decides to spend the rest of his life with the young lady who doesn’t have a problem with guys wearing skirts.
Some scenes were filmed on Santa Cruz Island and some at “Piranhurst,” a million-dollar Montecito estate owned by the Bothin family. (Only a portion of this silent movie survives.)
