one million feet of film Ingram shot, his editing produced a four-hour rough cut. The studio made further cuts, including scenes deemed anti-German by that country's embassy. Mare Nostrum, with a running time of just under two-hours premiered at New York's Criterion Theatre on 15 February 1926. Critical and popular response Mare Nostrum opened to encouraging critical reviews, though both Motion Picture Magazine and Variety reported that audience response at its premier was unimpressive. Ingram insisted on retaining the original title from Ibáñez's novel, which some critics and audiences found perplexing (mare is Latin for “sea”, in English, a “female horse”). Movie-goers of Spanish and Italian descent flocked to the Mediterranean-themed picture at New York's Capitol Theatre, grossing M-G-M almost $20,000 in the first two weeks of its release. Post-World War I nationalism in Europe polarized the reaction to Mare Nostrum, which depicts a German U-boat destruction of a Spanish merchant ship. The film was praised in France and banned in Germany. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer issued a mea culpa to placate their European markets. Influence Ingram positioned the notable love scene between Alice Terry and Antonio Moreno in front of a large aquarium tank featuring a large octopus, eliciting audience “annoyance” at Mare Nostrum’s New York premier. Director Orson Welles admired it, adapting the imagery for the seduction scene from his The Lady from Shanghai (1947). The young Michael Powell worked as an apprentice grip on the film, having been introduced by set designer Harry Lachman. He later credited Ingram's Mare Nostrum with influencing his own directorial efforts, among them Black Narcissus (1947) and The Red Shoes (1948). Sound remake A second film version of Mare Nostrum, this one a sound film, was made in Spanish in 1948. It starred Fernando Rey and María Félix, and was directed by Rafael Gil, who, the year before, had directed the first full-length Spanish film version of the 1869 Don Quixote ballet, based on the early 17th century novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Footnotes Sources Brownlow, Kevin. 2018. Mare Nostrum. San Francisco Silent Film Festival. https://silentfilm.org/mare-nostrum/ Retrieved 14 June 2021. Higham, Charles. 1973. The Art of the American Film: 1900-1971. Doubleday & Company, Inc. New York. Miller. Frank. 2004. Mare Nostrum. Turner Classic Movies. https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/1253/mare-nostrum#articles-reviews?articleId=70890 Retrieved 13 June 2021. External Sources Mare Nostrum at silentera.com Lobby poster, theatrical; $2 asking price for theater entrance Stills at silentsaregolden.com Film clip at tcm.com 1926 films American romantic