Edwin Carewe
Edwin Carewe (March 3, 1883, in Chickasaw Nation – January 22, 1940) was a Native American motion picture director, actor, producer, and screenwriter.
Edwin Carewe

Pyramid Pictures / American Releasing Co. · Exhibitors Herald (Apr. - Jun. 1922) on the Internet Archive · Public domain
- Name
- Edwin Carewe
- Birth Name
- Jay John Fox
- Born
- 3 March 1883
- Birthplace
- Gainesville, Texas, United States
- Died
- 22 January 1940
- Place of death
- Hollywood, California, United States
- Education
- University of Texas
- Occupation
- Film director, actor
- Spouse
- * Mary Jane Croft
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
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wikidata · Q3048778 · wikipedia · Edwin Carewe
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Edwin Carewe • Birth Name — Jay John Fox • Born — 3 March 1883 • Birthplace — Gainesville, Texas, United States • Died — 22 January 1940 • Place of death — Hollywood, California, United States • Citizenship — Chickasaw Nation, American • Education — University of Texas • Parents — Franklin Marion Fox and Sally J. Priddy Fox • Occupation — Film director, actor • Years Active — 1912–1934 • Spouse — * Mary Jane Croft • Mary Akin (actress) • Mary Akin (remarried) • Children — Violette Carewe, Mary Jane Carewe, Sally Ann Carewe, William Carewe, Carol Lee Carewe • Family — F. Finish Carewe (brother) Wallace Carewe (brother)
Early life and education
Early life and education
Jay John Fox was born on March 3, 1883, in Gainesville, Texas. His parents were Franklin Marion Fox and Sallie J. Priddy Fox. Carewe and his two brothers, Wallace Ware Fox (a director/producer) and Franklin Finis Fox (a scenario writer), were all citizens of the Chickasaw Nation and original enrollees on the 1907 Chickasaw Dawes Rolls.
Career
Career
section After brief studies at the Universities of Texas and Missouri and a period of work with regional theatrical groups, Carewe moved to New York City in 1910, where he became a member of the Dearborn Stock Company. Although Jay Fox was his given name, Carewe chose Edwin (from stage actor Edwin Booth) and Carewe from a character he was playing. Carewe was on stage as an actor before he worked for Lubin studios. Later, he directed films for MGM, First National, Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, and United Artists. During his career, he provided early screen exposure to many actors such as Dolores del Río, Warner Baxter, Francis X. Bushman and Gary Cooper. He directed 58 films including the acclaimed 1928 version of Ramona starring Dolores del Río and Warner Baxter, which was rediscovered and restored by the Library of Congress and had its world premiere at the University of California, Los Angeles in 2014. Another of Carewe's notable films was Evangeline in 1929, also with Del Río, and written by his brother Finis Fox. Evangeline was based upon the poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and earned praise for its exceptional lighting and camera work. Although Carewe directed and produced several critically and financially successful pictures during the silent era, he was not fully able to make the transition to sound. After resorting to sound remakes of his earlier successes, and later to low-budget and religious films, he made his last feature Are We Civilized? in 1934. Carewe was married three times, twice to actress Mary Akin. By his first wife, Mary Jane Croft (married January 9, 1909 in Toronto, Ontario), he had two daughters, Violette (who became an actress, known as "Rita Carewe") and Mary Jane. By his first marriage to his second wife, Mary Akin, he had two children, Sally Ann and William (born Edwin Gilbert). By his second marriage to Akin, they had one more child, Carol Lee.
Death
Death
Carewe died from a heart ailment in his Hollywood apartment, and is buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
Director
Director
• Year — Films — Notes • 1914 — Across the Pacific — Extant at The Museum of Modern Art • 1915 — Cora — Lost film • 1915 — The Cowboy and the Lady — Lost film • 1915 — Destiny: Or, The Soul of a Woman — 3 of 5 reels held at Library of Congress • 1915 — The Final Judgment • 1915 — The House of Tears — Lost film • 1915 — Marse Covington — Lost film • 1916 — The Dawn of Love — Lost film • 1916 — God's Half Acre — Extant at Library of Congress • 1916 — Her Great Price — Lost film • 1916 — The Snowbird • 1916 — The Sunbeam — Lost film • 1916 — The Upstart — Lost film • 1917 — The Barricade — Lost film • 1917 — The Greatest Power — Lost film • 1917 — Her Fighting Chance — Lost film • 1917 — The Trail of the Shadow — Lost film • 1917 — Their Compact — Lost film • 1917 — The Voice of Conscience • 1918 — The House of Gold — Lost film • 1918 — Liberty Bond Jimmy — Short film • 1918 — Pals First — Lost film Remade in 1926 • 1918 — The Splendid Sinner — Lost film • 1918 — The Trail to Yesterday • 1919 — Easy to Make Money — Lost film • 1919 — False Evidence • 1919 — The Right to Lie — Extant at EYE Filmmuseum • 1919 — Shadows of Suspicion — Lost film • 1919 — The Way of the Strong — Lost film • 1920 — Isobel; Or, The Trail's End — Lost film • 1920 — Rio Grande — Lost film • 1920 — The Web of Deceit • 1921 — Habit — Lost film • 1921 — Her Mad Bargain — Lost film • 1921 — The Invisible Fear — Lost film • 1921 — My Lady's Latchkey — Lost film • 1921 — Playthings of Destiny — Lost film • 1922 — I Am the Law — Lost film • 1922 — A Question of Honor — Lost film • 1922 — Silver Wings — Lost film • 1923 — The Bad Man — Lost film • 1923 — The Girl of the Golden West — Lost film • 1923 — Mighty Lak' a Rose — Lost film • 1924 — Madonna of the Streets — Lost film • 1924 — A Son of the Sahara — Lost film • 1925 — Joanna — Lost film • 1925 — The Lady Who Lied — Lost film • 1925 — My Son — Lost film • 1925 — Why Women Love — Lost film • 1926 — High Steppers — Lost film • 1926 — Pals First — Lost film • 1927 — Resurrection — Lost film • 1928 — Ramona • 1928 — Revenge • 1929 — Evangeline • 1930 — The Spoilers • 1931 — Resurrection • 1934 — Are We Civilized?
Actor
Actor
• The Water Rats (1912) • Gentleman Joe (1912) • The Moonshiner's Daughter (1912) • A Girl's Bravery (1912) • The Call of the Heart (1913) • His Conscience (1913) • Into the Light (1913) • On Her Wedding Day (1913) • Her Husband's Picture (1913) • From Ignorance to Light (1913) • The Wine of Madness (1913) • The Great Pearl (1913) • Kidnapping Father (1913) • Retribution (1913) • A Mock Marriage (1913) • In the Harem of Haschem (1913) • A Florida Romance (1913) • Women of the Desert (1913) • The Moonshiner's Wife (1913) • Dolores' Decision (1913) • The Soul of a Rose (1913) • The First Prize (1913) • The Supreme Sacrifice (1913) • The Regeneration of Nancy (1913) • Down on the Rio Grande (1913) • It Might Have Been (1913) • Love's Justice (1913) • The Mexican Spy (1913) • The Miser (1913) • On the Threshold (1913) • Private Smith (1913) • The Three of Us (1914) • Cora (1915) • Snowbird (1916)
Producer
Producer
• Isobel or The Trail's End (1920) • The Web of Deceit (1920) • I Am the Law (1922) • The Bad Man (1923) • The Girl of the Golden West (1923) • Mighty Lak' a Rose (1923) • Madonna of the Streets (1924) • A Son of the Sahara (1924) • Joanna (1925) • Why Women Love (1925) • The Lady Who Lied (1925) • My Son (1925) • Pals First (1926) • High Steppers (1926) • Resurrection (1927) • Revenge (1928) • Evangeline (1929) • The Spoilers (1930) • Resurrection (1931) • Are We Civilized? (1934)
Identity
Identity
Edwin Carewe is recorded as actor, screenwriter, film director and film producer.

Film director Edwin Carewe, on page 393 of the January 20, 1923 Exhibitor's Trade Review.
Apeda Studio · Exhibitor's Trade Review (Dec. 1922 - Feb. 1923) on the Internet Archive

Director and producer Edwin Carewe. From the back: "Edwin Carewe, First National Director-Producer, who is now making The Lady Who Lied, with Lewis Stone, Virginia Valli and Nita Naldi in the featured cast." Subjects (LCTGM): actors
J. Willis Sayre Collection of Theatrical Photographs
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1940
Edwin Carewe died at Hollywood.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Gainesville.
Birth place
Hollywood.
Death place
Writer
• Across the Pacific (1914) • The Dancer and the King (1914) • Rio Grande (1920) • Resurrection (1927)
Literature
Scholarly footprint
A count of publications is evidence of attention, not of standing, and is given here only as a measure.
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Edwin Carewe, revision 1372937015 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Fox Brothers: Finis, Jay (Edwin Carewe), and Wallace. University of Arkansas, Little Rock.
- 2.Edwin Carewe's Biography. Edwin Carewe.
- 3.Slate, John H. Carewe, Edwin. Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. June 12, 2010.
- 4.Large, Deborah. Edwin Carew Was Pioneering Director During Silent Screen Era. Chickasaw Times. December 2014.
- 5.Aleiss, Angela. Recovered and Restored: Ramona, Silent Movie by Chickasaw Filmmaker. Indian Country Today Media Network. March 27, 2014.
- 6.The New York Times, January 23, 1940, p. 21; Variety January 24, 1940.
- 7.The New York Times, August 20, 1929.
- 8.See Edwin Carewe, State of California Standard Certificate of Death, 22 Jan 1940 (filed 24 Jan 1940), Local Registered No. 1904. Although a few writers have said that Carewe had committed suicide, his death certificate actually states arteriosclerosis general and coronary sclerosis as the cause of death. He had a previous condition of coronary thrombosis. Even if suicide had been suspected, the LA County Coroner's Office would have been required by law to perform an autopsy and none was ever performed.
- 9.The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: Across The Pacific
- 10.The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: Marse Covington
- 11.The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: God's Half Acre
- 12.The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: Her Great Price
- 13.The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: The Sunbeam
- 14.The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: The Upstart
- 15.The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: Pals First
- 16.The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: The Right to Lie
- 17.The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: Isobel; Or, The Trail's End
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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