A Yoke of Gold

According to the book - The Universal Story, Carl Laemmle (1867-1939) produced around 91 movies in 1916.[5] Lloyd B. Carleton (c. 1872–1933) started working for Carl Laemmle in the Fall of 1915.[6] Carleton arrived with impeccable credentials, having directed some 60 films for the likes of Thanhouser, Lubin, Fox, and Selig.[7] Between March and December 1916, 44-year-old Lloyd Carleton directed 16 movies for Universal, starting with The Yaqui and ending with The Morals of Hilda. Emory Johnson acted in all 16 of these films. Of Carleton's total 1916 output, 11 were feature films, and the rest were two-reel shorts.

In 1916, Carleton directed 13 films pairing Dorothy Davenport and Emory Johnson. This film would be the eighth in the 13-film series. These totals show Carl Laemmle was clearly giving the Davenport-Johnson pairing one of his elite directors from the working cadre of universal directors to produce the screen chemistry Laemmle was seeking.

• Dorothy Davenport (1895-1977) was an established star for Universal when the 21 year-old actress played Carmen. She had acted in hundreds of movies by the time she starred in this film. The majority of these films were 2-reel shorts, as was the norm in Hollywood's teen years. She had been making movies since 1910. She started dating Wally Reid when she was barely 16, and he was 20. They married in 1913. After her husband died in 1923, she used the name "Mrs. Wallace Reid" in the credits for any project she took part in.[8] Besides being an actress, she would eventually become a film director, producer, and writer.[9]
• Emory Johnson (1894-1960) was 22 years old when he starred in this movie as Jose Garcia. In January 1916, Emory signed a contract with Universal Film Manufacturing Company. Carl Laemmle of Universal Film Manufacturing Company thought he saw great potential in Johnson, so he chooses him to be Universal's new leading man. Laemmle's hope was Johnson would become another Wallace Reed. A major part of his plan was to create a movie couple that would sizzle on the silver screen. Laemmle thought Dorothy Davenport and Emory Johnson could create the chemistry he sought. Johnson and Davenport would complete 13 films together. They started with the successful feature production of Doctor Neighbor in May 1916 and ended with The Devil's Bondwoman in November 1916. After completing the last movie, Laemmle thought Johnson did not have the screen presence he wanted. He decided not to renew his contract.[10][9] Johnson would make 17 movies in 1916, including eight shorts and 11 feature-length Dramas. 1916 would become the second-highest movie output of his entire acting career. Emory acted in 25 films for Universal, mostly dramas with a sprinkling of comedies and westerns.
• Alfred Allen (1866-1947) was 50 years old when he was selected to play Luis Lopez. Allen was highly educated, had a commanding presence and stood six feet, and weighed two hundred pounds. He got his start in the film industry at Universal city in 1913. He landed his first role in 1915. His roles were character parts, and he played mostly fathers, villains, or ranch owners. Alfred Allen appeared in 69 features from 1916 through 1929. After acting in Heartaches he would appear in four more Davenport-Johnson projects: A Yoke of Gold, The Unattainable, The Human Gamble and Barriers of Society.[11]
• Richard Morris (1862-1924) was a 54 year-old actor when he played Padre Amador. He was a character actor and former opera singer known for Granny (1913). He would eventually participate in many Johnson projects, including |In the Name of the Law (1922), The Third Alarm (1922), The West~Bound Limited (1923), The Mailman (1923) until his untimely death in 1924.

The movie is based on a story by Rob Wagner (1872-1942) and a screenplay by Calder Johnstone (1880-1958).

The film was also known as In The Days of the Missions.[12] The film's name has also been cited as The Yoke of Gold.[13][14]

The movie was filmed at Universal Studios located in Universal City, California.

The film was officially released on August 14, 1916.[2]

Based on an American Film Institute standard, films with a running time of forty-five minutes or longer are considered feature films. In 1915, feature films were becoming more the trend in Hollywood. In 1916, Universal formed a three-tier branding system for their releases. Universal films decided to label their films according to the size of their budget and status. Universal, unlike the top-tier studios, did not own any theaters to market its feature films. Universal gave theater owners and audiences a quick reference guide by branding their product. Branding would help theater owners judge films they were about to lease and help fans decide which movies they wanted to see.

Universal released three different types of feature motion pictures:[15][16]

• Red feather Photoplays – low-budget feature films
• Bluebird Photoplays – mainstream feature release and more ambitious productions
• Jewel – prestige motion pictures featuring high budgets using prominent actors

This film carried Universal's "Red Feather" brand, designating a low-budget feature film.

Melodrama films have plots appealing to the raised passions of the audience. They concentrate on family issues, direct their attention to a victim character, and develop the themes of duty and love. The melodramatic format shows the characters working through their struggles with persistence, sacrificial deeds, and courage.

The critics generally panned this movie.

In the September 16, 1916 issue of the New York Clipper, the reviewer writes[1]

Here we have the "Red Feather" stuff at what seems to be its lowest ebb . . . The story is weak, the direction fair at best, the acting "most ordinary", and the general characteristics, designate "The Yoke of Gold" as a puerile affair.

In the September issue of the Moving Picture World, Robert C. McElravy reviewed this movie and stated:[13]

A weak story is its main drawback, and this is the more noticeable because so many strong tales have been woven about the early days of California. . . . There is a great deal of quiet beauty in these offerings and a strong moral purpose in the story. But these things do not compensate for the slow action and lack of dramatic strength

In the September issue of the Motion Picture News, Peter Milne was more upbeat in his review. He observed:[14]

Aided by some beautiful scenes and good photography, the picture leaves little to be desired from an artistic standpoint . . . With Emory Johnson and Dorothy Davenport in the roles of lovers and Alfred Allen as the bandit, the picture has been well-acted.

The September issue of the New York Clipper estimated the budget of this film at no more than US$3,000 (equivalent to $80,679 in 2022). They used this figure to explain the poor quality of the feature film. They also pointed out "...the big feature companies are to-day spending from US$5,000 (equivalent to $134,465 in 2022) to US$20,000 (equivalent to $537,859 in 2022) on a five-reeler.[1]

• 
  Emory Johnson in 1916
• 
  Dorothy Davenport in 1914
• 
  Alfred Allen in 1919
• 
  Gretchen Lederer in 1916
• 
  Richard Morris in 1916
• 
  Lloyd B. Carleton Director

• 
  The play has a Mission background.
• 
  Jose and Carmen receive the Padre's blessing.
• 
  Carmen rests at Santa Barbara.
• 
  "If you were not my guest . . ."
• 
  Beautiful Gretchen Lederer
• 
  Dorothy Davenport, Emory Johnson