Theda Bara Movies
Although publicized as an Egyptian of royal lineage, silent film actress Theda Bara was actually born Theodosia Goodman in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her exotic good looks brought her to the attention of Fox studios in 1914; reasoning that there were too many sweet little ingenues in films of that period, Fox decided to create a worldly "vamp" character, a woman who could destroy men with little more than a sexy glance. The studio changed Theodosia's name to Theda Bara (which coincidentally was an anagram for "Arab Death"), casting her in a liberal adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's A Fool There Was(1914). She became Fox's biggest star, appearing in as many as ten feature films per year, including Salome (1918) and Cleopatra (1918). Her somewhat overripe histrionics became out of fashion by 1920, so she retired from acting to married life; Bara resurfaced in a "so bad it's good" Broadway play The Blue Flame, then made an unsuccessful film comeback attempt in 1925. Her last screen work was in a two-reel lampoon of her vamp character, Madame Mystery (1926), directed by, of all people, Stan Laurel. Though happily married and fabulously wealthy, Bara never gave up the dream that she might someday return to screen glory; at the time of her death in 1955, Hollywood's casting service directories still listed the actress as "at liberty." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1965
One subject that has always been popular in the movies -- and is likely to stay that way for a long time to come -- is beautiful women, and this 1965 documentary explores the history of the Hollywood sex symbol, from the earliest days of Thomas Alva Edison's first silent films to such then-contemporary bombshells as Sophia Loren and Elizabeth Taylor. Along with celebrating some of the most beautiful women to grace the silver screen, including Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth, Marlene Dietrich, Jean Harlow, Ingrid Bergman, and Greta Garbo, The Love Goddesses discusses the shifting attitudes about the onscreen portrayal of love and sex, and how some actresses found their images changing as they went from ingenues to pinups, and sometimes vice-versa. Actor Carl King serves as narrator; Percy Faith composed the score. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1953
"Her Salome Will Steal Your Breath Away" was the classic advertising slogan attached to this opulent Rita Hayworth epic -- a slogan which became laughable whenever a radio announcer would mispronounce Salome as "salami." Using the very sketchy Biblical story of the death of John the Baptist as its springboard, Salome depicts its title character, the stepdaughter of King Herod, as a victim of circumstance rather than a wanton temptress. Banished from Rome because of an unfortunate romance with the nephew of Caesar, Salome (Rita Hayworth) declares that all men are her enemies, but her resolve weakens when she falls in love with Claudius (Stewart Granger), the military commander of Galilee. Meanwhile, Salome's wicked mother, Herodias (Judith Anderson), plots the demise of John the Baptist (Alan Badel), who currently enjoys the protection of the superstitious Herod (Charles Laughton). At this point, the story departs radically from Scripture. Salome is no longer coerced by Herodias to demand the head of John the Baptist; instead, Herodias, on her own, promises Herod that Salome will perform the "Dance of the Seven Veils" for him -- but only if he beheads John first (Salome has been misinformed that the dance will save John from the headsman's sword). Somehow, scriptwriter Jesse Lasky Jr. even manages to concoct a happy ending for poor Salome, which is a lot more than Oscar Wilde or Richard Strauss were able to do. Considered an artistic flop in 1953, Salome seems somewhat better today, if only because of that powerhouse cast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rita Hayworth, Stewart Granger, (more)
- 1926
1910s screen vamp Theda Bara ended her film career at Hal Roach studios. Originally she had been signed to do a number of comedies, but after making this two-reeler, Bara's husband, director Charles J. Brabin, asked her to quit. Bara looks good in this film, and she plays up the comedy for all it's worth (and then some -- she was never known for her subtlety). The government hires Madame Mystery (Bara) to go on a mission in which she delivers a newly discovered explosive, helium nitrate, to New York. On the ship taking her across the Atlantic, secret service agents from an enemy country watch her closely. Two starving artists get tangled up in the plot, and they wind up with the little package that has been entrusted to Madame Mystery. One of them hides it in his mouth and accidentally swallows it. The helium causes him to expand like a balloon and he floats away, his pal clinging to his leg. A pelican pecks at the unfortunate man, who explodes.Oliver Hardy has a small role as a ship's captain (and was directed by his future partner, Stan Laurel). Incidentally, Bara got paid 15,000 dollars for her efforts. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1926
The fetchingly underdressed Dorothy Mackaill plays the title role in The Dancer of Paris. Betrayed early on by the degenerate Sir Roy Martel (Robert Cain), American heroine Consuelo (Mackaill) vows to track her betrayer down to the ends of the earth. Arriving in Paris, she makes the acquaintance of virtuous Noel Anson (Conway Tearle) -- who happens to be Sir Roy's best friend. Imagining that Consuelo is as pure as the driven snow, Noel falls madly in love with her. Hoping to disillusion his friend, Sir Roy arranges for Noel to attend one of Consuelo's nude dance performances. Instead, the undaunted Noel rescues the girl from her sordid surroundings and takes her back to the good ol' USA, where we are assured that she will start life fresh and anew. Originally, Dorothy Mackaill was to have actually been seen in the altogether (albeit filmed from a discreet distance), but the censors prevailed; in the finished film, she is wearing a two-piece outfit that would hardly raise an eyebrow on a modern beach. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Conway Tearle, Dorothy Mackaill, (more)
- 1925
Based on a play by Louis Anspacher, The Unchastened Woman starred Elsie Ferguson as the title character, aka Grace Valentine. The already confusing plotline was rendered even more so on screen, but basically the story concerned the drastic measures taken by the heroine to get even with her philandering husband. Relocating to Europe, Grace quickly gains a reputation as a "femme fatale," driving her husband mad with jealousy. Only the birth of the Valentines' baby reawakens Grace to her wifely duties and convinces her husband that he was just as much at fault for her scandalous behavior as she. Old-fashioned even by 1918 standards, The Unchastened Woman hadn't improved with age when it was remade as Theda Bara's "comeback" picture in 1925. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1919
By mid-1919, Theda Bara's career was on its downslide. The release of A Woman There Was all but killed it. This was a very weak attempt at casting her as something other than a "vampire." The plot was silly and dated -- Bara plays Princess Zara, who lives on a South Sea Island. A handsome young missionary (William B. Davidson) arrives and there is a romance, which is hindered by various complications including a poorly-staged typhoon. Zara is accidentally stabbed and killed, and the missionary goes home to the white girl who is waiting for him at home in England. Apparently this film no longer exists, but stills for it show Bara looking her worst -- she is overweight and her primitive costumes and wig make her look especially dumpy. It was the last film she made with director J. Gordon Edwards -- a sorry end to what was, overall, a very profitable working relationship. The films Bara and Edwards made together formed the peak of both their careers. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1919
Before he became world-famous for his sophisticated sex farces, Ernst Lubitsch was primarily a director of outsized German "spectaculars." One such was Madame Du Barry, an operatic version of the life, loves and death of the legendary 18th-century French courtesan. Pola Negri plays DuBarry, who sleeps her way to the court of King Louis XV (Emil Jannings), ultimately becoming his mistress. Comes the revolution, and the rabble demands DuBarry's head. This gives Negri plenty of opportunity for strenuous histrionics as she's led to the guillotine. Small wonder that this film was retitled Passion for its American release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emil Jannings
- 1919
In this Theda Bara spectacular, she plays one of history's most notorious vamps. Salome, a favorite of the Roman court, uses her feminine wiles to get anything she wants. The only man who doesn't fall for her tricks is John the Baptist (Albert Roscoe, who played the part clean-shaven). Salome wreaks havoc in the court until a banquet King Herod (G. Raymond Nye) holds for the captains of his army. John the Baptist is being held prisoner at the palace and Salome once again tries to make him succumb to her. When he turns a cold shoulder, she angrily leaves and offers to dance for Herod as long as he rewards her with anything she wants. He agrees and she dances. When she is done she asks for the head of John the Baptist. Even though Herod is horrified by this request, he accedes to her demand and his head is brought out on a platter. Salome kisses the dead man's lips and a monstrous storm rises up. Herod, believing that this is a sign from the God preached by John the Baptist, has Salome put to death. This was Bara's biggest release since Cleopatra, released a year earlier. Its sets were elaborate (although apparently not historically correct) and her costumes impressive. It was the star's last hurrah before her career began its downslide. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1919
In her swan song for Fox (the studio that had created the "vamp"), Theda Bara was rather less lethal than in her earlier, hugely successful melodramas. She played the social-climbing Olga Dolan, who becomes the Duchess of Rutledge by means of deception and sheer ruthlessness. Sadly, Bara, who had more or less single-handedly begun the "vamp" craze with the prototype of the genre, A Fool There Was, went out with little more than a whisper. She left films after the ironically titled The Lure of Ambition, and was lured back only twice, in: The Unchastened Woman (1925), a poverty row concoction which had few takers, and Madame Mystery (1926), spoofing her former image and accompanied by the "Hal Roach All Stars." Happily married (to British director Charles J. Brabin) and a stolid Beverly Hills matron, Bara reportedly gave little thought to her rather sensational screen career. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1919
The quaint Irish lass of Annie Crawford's poem and Dion Boucicault's stage play came to the screen for the second time in 1919, courtesy of Theda Bara. No longer in the bloom of youth, the famous vamp was perhaps not the obvious choice to play the young innocent forced into a loveless marriage by the fiendish Squire of Tralee (Marc MacDermott). The formidable MacDermott was well cast as the Squire, but Bara's jubilant "the best role I've ever had" was rather laughable. However, with a new director, Englishman Charles J. Brabin, and a more lavish budget than afforded her latest vehicles, Bara was hopeful of success. Unfortunately, both The Central Council of Irish Associations and The Friends of Irish Freedom objected to the film depicting a poverty ridden Ireland. The fact that the beloved Mavourneen was played by an infamous American Jew didn't help matters, and Kathleen Mavourneen turned into an unmitigated disaster. In the midst of all the controversy, however, Bara married her director, a union that would last a lifetime. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1919
Theda Bara's career with Fox was near its end when Bara made this romantic melodrama. Marie Bernais (Bara) is no vamp -- she's merely the lively daughter of a Breton lighthouse keeper. But Jules Bernais (Alfred Fremont) is so stern and conservative in his outlook that he calls her a siren for raising her pretty voice in song. He becomes even angrier with her when she shows little interest in the attentions of minister Raoul Nieppe (L.C. Shumway). He finally makes his daughter's life so unbearable that she tries to drown herself. But she is saved by Hector Remey (Paul Weigel), an old music teacher who takes her to Paris so she can develop her voice. She becomes a success and has a happy romance with the wealthy Gaspard Prevost (Albert Roscoe). But just then Nieppe shows up, and he's shocked at her affair. He insists that she return to her old village and sing for the soldiers who are going off to war. She agrees, but finds her father as stern and unforgiving as he ever was. His ire towards her causes him to have a heart attack and the shock of his death turns Marie towards spiritual matters. She leaves Prevost in favor of Nieppe, and sings for the soldiers even though she has caught cold and knows it will destroy her voice. She discovers, however, that Nieppe's interest in her is less pure and far more prurient than he was letting on, so she denounces him. Prevost, who really loves her, returns to her side. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1919
In this film, her next-to-last picture for Fox, it was Theda Bara's turn to tackle a double role (just about every star in the late-1910s did this). Bara's characters are twin sisters La Belle Russe, the wicked one, and Fleurette, the nice one. They're Parisian dancers, and Fleurette marries Philip Sackton (Warburton Gamble). However, Sackton is a member of Britain's snooty aristocracy, and his family disinherits him. Undaunted, he tries his hand at painting, while Fleurette teaches dance to children. Philip enlists in the war, where another officer tells him of his trials and tribulations with La Belle Russe. Sackton is wounded and sent home, where he discovers that because his only brother has died, his mother (Alice Wilson) has decided to mend fences and welcome Fleurette into the family. But Philip has taken his officer friend with him and when they arrive at the Sackton estate thinking they'll find Fleurette, the officer is horrified to see La Belle Russe living there. Philip is destroyed, believing that Fleurette was the promiscuous one. Actually it is La Belle Russe who is at the Sackton's -- she has tried to take over Fleurette's identity so she can live in luxury. But the real Fleurette shows up and dashes her plans. This film, directed by Bara's future husband, Charles J. Brabin, was adapted from a 1880s stage play written by David Belsaco. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1919
Theda Bara does her usual vamp turn in this picture, but this time she's a vamp who turns out to have a heart of gold. Her character, Blanchette DuMonde, is known as "the wickedest woman in Paris," and because of this sordid reputation, she is not allowed to serve as a nurse during World War I. So she becomes an Apache dancer instead. A young sculptor is taken with Blanchette and would like her to pose for a statue, but her latest sugar daddy (Eugene Ormonde) won't allow it. Sadly, the sculptor goes to war and comes back home blinded. Meanwhile, Blanchette has dumped her sugar daddy for a ruffian, but she leaves him for the blinded sculptor and is happy taking care of him. Both her ex-boyfriends track her down, and she kills the ruffian. The sugar daddy winds up taking credit for the murder after being upbraided by the blind man, who tells him, "You only saw Blanchette's body. It took a man without eyes to see her soul." The Light was a success after a year's worth of failures for Bara, and it brought life back to her limping career. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1919
Theda Bara's career began its downhill slide in earnest with this cheaply-made melodrama. As Marie Lohr, a German-American musical student stranded in war-torn Europe, Bara tones down the vampiness and plays the good girl. But when Marie has to impersonate a notorious dead woman to be able to leave Germany, Bara fires up her usual seductive spirit. Marie's American fiancée, aviator Robert Stedman (Fleming Ward), is doing his best to help her, but they are hampered at every turn by the evil Van Rohn (G. Raymond Nye), who is determined to make Marie his wife, whether she wants him or not. When Marie and Stedman finally hook up, they are interrupted by the villain. Stedman hides in the closet, but it takes practically no time for Van Rohn to figure out that something is amiss. He heads for the closet, gun drawn, but Marie stabs him with a dagger. Stedman dons the German's clothes, and they finally fly away. The picture bombed -- World War I had ended months before, and people were sick of seeing films about it. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1918
Theda Bara doesn't do much vamping in her follow-up to Salome. She is Lillian Marchard, nursemaid to the lecherous Mortimer West (Joseph Swickard). While West makes disgusting advances towards Lillian, she pines for his son, Michael, who is a clergyman (Albert Roscoe). One night when the old man paws at Lillian, Michael walks in on them. He denounces Lillian, and the shock of the whole situation brings old man West to his death. Michael tells Lillian she is the cause of all this and throws her out. The disheartened girl transforms herself into a dancer named Poppea, and attracts the attention of Michael's cousin Reggie (Jack Rollens). Michael asks her to send the young man away. During their meeting, Poppea tries desperately to get back together with Michael, and she is successful. But Reggie has been spying on the two of them and he kills himself. Once again Michael blames the girl for this misfortune and leaves. At the end of her tether, Poppea decides to auction herself off to the highest bidder and then drink poison, but before she can end it all, she receives a bunch of lilies -- a peace offering from Michael, who finally realizes that she was innocent of any wrongdoing. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1918
The Philippine revolution became the setting for yet another trivial Theda Bara potboiler in which the famous vamp played an innocent young girl saving her lover (Albert Roscoe) from a nasty planter (G. Raymond Nye. An earthquake hit Southern California in the middle of filming, creating rather more excitement offscreen than on. Like its predecessor, The Soul of a Buddha, this inexpensively mounted melodrama was yet another example of the Fox company's waning interest in the once so potent vamp. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1918
Obviously inspired by the then topical Mata Hari espionage case, this drama presented the screen's leading vixen, Theda Bara, as a Javanese priestess who elopes with an English military officer (Hugh Thompson). Like Mata before her, Bara's Bavahari becomes a celebrated dancer but is murdered onstage by a vengeful Buddhist priest (Victor Kennard). None of this made much sense, but Bara melodramas were never strong on character motivation or logic. The Soul of a Buddha was filmed in the dead of winter at Fort Lee, New Jersey, a paper mache temple and the palisades standing in -- uneasily -- for tropical Java. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1918
Lolette (Theda Bara) is a fiery young Spanish girl. When a painter, Maurice (Albert Roscoe), comes to her town in search of locations, she falls in love with him. But when he's ready to return to Paris, he refuses to take her along. She's determined to follow him, though. To get the money, she steals jewels and loot from a bandit named Tiger (George McDaniel) who has been lusting after her. She finds Maurice, and he decides to use her as a model. He finds her a particularly inspiring subject. One evening they go to the theater to see some Spanish dancers. Lolette is not impressed, and she proceeds to show them how it's really done. That night Tiger, who has tracked her down, tries to get his jewels back, but Maurice, thinking he is merely a burglar, overpowers him. The next day, a pack of impresarios offer her contracts. She accepts advance money from all of them then puts all the cash into an orphans' box. Maurice finds out what she's done and insists that they must run away or she will be arrested. Once again they encounter Tiger, but they trick him and hit the road once again. This picture was solid Theda Bara entertainment; it failed at the box office, however, because it was released on November 10, 1918 -- the day before the Armistice. The last thing people cared about that week was a vamp movie.
~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1918
This Theda Bara drama was called a "Fox Standard," but it just as well could have been called a "Standard Bara," since it's pretty much interchangeable with most of the other films she was making at the time. Mary Lynde (Bara) is an innocent girl who has grown up in New York's Greenwich Village. One of the artists there, Felix Benavente (Sidney Mason), uses her as model when he paints a portrait of the Madonna for a church. His friend Robert Sinclair (Hugh Thompson) corrupts Mary so that her father (Walter Law) casts her from his home. She goes to live with Sinclair in his mountain lodge, but after the birth of a child, he callously casts her aside. Subsequently, her baby dies and she sinks to the depths of despair. Benavente is commissioned to paint a portrait of "Sin," and when he finds Mary, he once again uses her as the model. And, once more, she runs across Sinclair, who is planning to marry Barbara Reynolds (Florence Martin). To keep their association a secret, Mary forces Sinclair to give her large sums of money by stealing from the bank where he works. Finally she makes him choose between marrying her or being arrested for his theft. He chooses marriage, but at the altar Mary exposes him completely. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1917
By 1917, Theda Bara had become one of the screen's biggest stars, and her fans had long been suggesting that she portray ancient Egypt's famed queen. So Bara's studio, Fox, shipped her out to Los Angeles for this spectacular production (all of her prior films had been shot on the East Coast). Bara did extensive research on the role, and she knew that Cleopatra was a cunning political leader; the studio, of course, played up the sex angle, so she comes across as a woman who, if she didn't sleep her way to the top, at least slept her way through the top. She first seduces Caesar (Fritz Leiber), then after his assassination, she turns her adversary Pharon (Albert Roscoe) into a lover. Finally, Marc Antony (Thurston Hall) tries to conquer Cleopatra but instead is conquered by her charms. Even marriage to Octavia (Genevieve Blinn) can't keep him from joining his destiny with the Queen of the Nile. It turns out to be his downfall, as Octavia's brother Octavius (Henri de Vries) opposes and defeats him, and he is forced to kill himself. Instead of using the dagger like Antony, Cleopatra prefers the drama of being bitten by a poisonous snake. The studio's publicity department had a field day with the promotion for this picture -- this was when they came up with the brilliant insight that the name "Theda Bara" was an anagram for "Arab Death." Bara herself went along with the fun, first claiming to be the reincarnation of a daughter of Seti, high priest of the pharaohs, and then insisting that in a past life she was Cleopatra herself. Years later, long after the end of her career, she gleefully admitted it was all a wonderful joke. Unfortunately, the film itself, which ran over two hours and was one of the top box office draws of 1917, has apparently been lost. This is especially tragic, since still photos of the elaborate sets and shockingly bare costumes only serve to heighten curiosity about this motion picture. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Theda Bara, Thurston Hall, (more)
- 1917
In an unsuccessful attempt to break out of her vampire mold, Theda Bara plays a sweet young thing in this picture adapted from the 1880 novel Moths by Ouida. Bara's character, Vere Herbert, lives with her wicked mother, Lady Dolly (Marie Curtis), who is living in sin with Lord Jura (Glen White). Although Vere is in love with an opera singer, Lucien Correze (Harry Hilliard), Lady Dolly convinces her that marrying the dissolute Prince Zouroff (Walter Law) will save her father's honor. But the Prince makes her miserable and insists on having his mistress, Jeanne deSonnaz (Caille Torrez), live with them. Vere won't stands for this and packs up her nurse (Alice Gale) to go live at the Prince's Siberian estate. Lucien wants Vere to divorce the Prince and marry him. However, a duel between the Prince and Lord Jura ends up killing both men, making this a moot point, and Lucien and Vera are free to marry. The novel's original ending, in which Lucien and Vere go live together without the benefit of a marriage certificate would have been more typical of Bara's style. But she was trying very hard to play the good girl in this picture (even though she apparently wouldn't give up the heavy kohl eyeliner, as stills from the film illustrate). This effort was poorly received (in reality, the thirty-something Bara was too old for this part, anyway), and the fact that the United States entered World War I the week it was released didn't help, either. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1917
You'd never know it from the title, but The Darling of Paris was a film version of Victor Hugo's Hunchback of Notre Dame. The titular hunchback (played by the forgotten Glen White) is downplayed in favor of gypsy dancing girl Esmerelda, here played by movie vamp Theda Bara. Esmerelda essential innocence and naivety were probably beyond the range of Bara, but audiences in 1917 would have lined up to see the star in a movie adaptation of the Los Angeles City Directory. The spectacular elements of the story were adeptly handled by director J. Gordon Edwards, who later helmed Theda Bara's successor Betty Blythe in The Queen of Sheba. Like all of Edwards' films (and most of Bara's), The Darling of Paris no longer exists. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1917
Theda Bara's next film after the blockbuster Cleopatra was this tale of the Russian revolution -- a timely subject, since the aristocracy had literally just been overthrown when the picture commenced filming. Lisza Tapenko (Bara) is governess in the household of Prince Arbasoff (Charles Clary). After the death of his wife, Lisza and he become involved, but because of the difference in social station he refuses to marry her. Lisza's former lover, Vassya (Richard Ordynski), convinces her to join the revolution and she goes off to the group headquarters in Switzerland. But the prince's little boy begs to have Lisza come back, so he goes after her and marries her. From then on Lisza leads a double life, princess on one hand and devoted revolutionary on the other. She marks her successful assassination attempts with a red rose. The day comes, finally, when she is ordered to kill her own husband. Lisza obliges, but she chooses to die with the prince. On a side note, the film was banned in Chicago because censors feared that it might inspire U.S. citizens to overthrow the government! ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1917
It didn't matter to the Fox studios that Mrs. Leslie Carter had already portrayed the mistress of Louis XV on screen two scant years earlier. They still felt that Madame DuBarry was the perfect role for vamp Theda Bara. The picture shows Jeanette (Bara) becoming the mistress of the ambitious Jean DuBarry (Herschel Mayall) who marries her off to one of his cousins so that she has an entree to the court. She soon becomes the favorite of the King (Charles Clary) and Jean DuBarry becomes a regular around the Court too. But all this is disturbed when Madame DuBarry falls for Conte Brissac of the King's Guard (Fred Church). DuBarry's attempts to expose her affair only get him banished from the court. After the King's death, Madame DuBarry and Brissac lead a happy existence until the French Revolution comes along and they are both killed, Madame DuBarry at the guillotine. Theda Bara discovered a young costume designer shortly before this picture was made, and he did her costumes for the rest of her time at Fox. But George Hopkins career didn't stop with costume design -- for five decades he was a set designer of note and won several Academy Awards. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1917
The title character in Dumas' Camille is a Parisian courtesan, but the heroine is relatively sympathetic, especially when she gives up her aristocratic young lover Armand Duval (Albert Roscoe) "for his own good." Like many of Bara's "literary" vehicles, this 1917 version of Camille was directed by J. Gordon Edwards, the grandfather of Blake Edwards. The critic for the trade magazine Variety spoke for many when he noted that the zaftig Bara seemed a bit too "voluptuous" to play the consumptive heroine. This shortcoming was, however, common to practically all the cinemazations of Camille, with the possible exception of the 1936 Greta Garbo version. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Theda Bara, Albert Roscoe, (more)
