bjgreen
By Betsy J. Green
Scenes for this silent movie were filmed in the gardens of the Gillespie estate in Montecito by the Selig Polyscope Company. It was released on December 25, 1916. This film could have been titled, “What Happens in the Garden of Allah, Stays in the Garden of Allah!” Here goes – a man who has been a Trappist monk in a monastery for 20 years decides (we don’t know why) that he wants to LIVE. So, he goes AWOL and ends up in an oasis in the desert. (We don’t know the why of that either.)
In the oasis swarming with Bedouins and camel caravans, he somehow meets up with an Englishwoman who is also looking for a change of pace, so to speak. Of course, since this is a Hollywood movie, they fall in love. Somehow, he neglects to tell her that he is a monk. Oops! This movie does not have the usual happy Hollywood ending.
A copy of this film exists.
