The year 1914 in film involved some significant events, including the debut of Cecil B. DeMille as a director.
Mary Roberts Rinehart was an American writer, often called the American Agatha Christie. Rinehart published her first mystery novel The Circular Staircase in 1908, which introduced the "had I but known" narrative style. Rinehart is also considered the source of "the butler did it" plot device in her novel The Door (1930), although the exact phrase does not appear in her work.
Pauline Frederick was an American stage and film actress.
Robert G. Vignola was an Italian-American actor, screenwriter, and film director. A former stage actor, he appeared in many motion pictures produced by Kalem Company and later moved to directing, becoming one of the silent screen's most prolific directors. He directed a handful of films in the early years of talkies but his career essentially ended in the silent era.
Robert Hichens was an English journalist, novelist, music lyricist, short story writer, music critic and collaborated on successful plays. He is best remembered as a satirist of the "Naughty Nineties".
Belladonna or Bella Donna may refer to:
The Eternal City is a 1915 American silent drama film directed by Hugh Ford and Edwin S. Porter, produced by Adolph Zukor. The movie stars Pauline Frederick in her debut film role, The production is based upon the 1901 novel and 1902 Broadway play of the same name by Hall Caine that starred Viola Allen and Frederic De Belleville. Much of The Eternal City was shot on location in England and Italy before being interrupted by the start of the Great War. The film was released through the specially created Select Film Booking Agency for the Famous Players Film Company.
The Eternal City is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by George Fitzmaurice, from a script by Ouida Bergère based on the 1901 Hall Caine novel of the same name, and starring Barbara La Marr, Lionel Barrymore, and Bert Lytell.
Temptation is a 1946 American film noir thriller film directed by Irving Pichel and starring Merle Oberon, George Brent, Charles Korvin and Paul Lukas. The film was based on Robert Smythe Hichens's 1909 novel Bella Donna.
Zaza is a 1923 American silent romantic drama film directed and produced by Allan Dwan, and starring Gloria Swanson. This film is based on the 1899 French play of the same name produced on Broadway by David Belasco and starring Mrs. Leslie Carter. The film was shot at Paramount's Astoria Studios in New York City.
Thomas J. Holding was a British-born stage and film actor.
Bella Donna is a 1923 American silent film produced by Famous Players-Lasky and released by Paramount Pictures. The film is based on the 1909 novel, Bella Donna, by Robert Smythe Hichens which was later adapted for a 1912 Broadway play starring Alla Nazimova. This film is also a remake of the 1915 Paramount film Bella Donna starring Pauline Frederick. The 1923 film was directed by George Fitzmaurice and starred Pola Negri in her first American film.
Sold was a 1915 American silent drama film produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Based on George Erastov's play of the same name, the film starred stage actress Pauline Frederick and was directed by Hugh Ford and Edwin S. Porter. The film was re-released in 1919 by Paramount. It is now considered lost.
Zaza was a 1915 American silent romantic drama film produced by Famous Players Film Company in association with the Charles Frohman Company, and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by Edwin S. Porter and Hugh Ford and stars Pauline Frederick in the title role. The film is based on the 1899 French stage play of the same name that starred Mrs. Leslie Carter, and the American adaptation by David Belasco.
Resurrection is a lost 1912 silent drama short film based on the 1899 novel Resurrection (Voskraeseniye) by Count Leo Tolstoy. It was directed by Joseph A. Golden, produced by Adolph Zukor and released by Famous Players Film Company, It is the first original film Zukor ever produced in contrast to the famous Les Amours de la reine Élisabeth starring Sarah Bernhardt which was made in France and which he bought the U.S. distribution rights.
Bella Donna is a 1934 British drama film directed by Robert Milton and starring Conrad Veidt, Mary Ellis and Cedric Hardwicke. The film is based on the 1909 novel Bella Donna by Robert Hichens which had previously been made into a 1923 American silent film Bella Donna starring Pola Negri. A further American adaptation Temptation starring Merle Oberon was produced in 1946.
Sapho is a lost 1913 silent film feature drama directed by Lucius Henderson and is based on the novel by Alphonse Daudet and Adolphe Belot. It stars stage actress Florence Roberts and Shelley Hull. It was produced by the Majestic Motion Picture Company and released by World's Special Films. As with Queen Elizabeth(1912) and Resurrection(1912), the film was one of the first features to star a major actress known by name. It competed with a four-reel French film that same year, 1913.
Macey Harlam was a stage and screen actor from New York. He performed on Broadway from 1901 to 1918 before switching to silent films. In films he appeared with Pauline Frederick, Douglas Fairbanks, Elsie Ferguson, Geraldine Farrar and Lionel Barrymore. He died at Saranac Lake, New York in 1923.
Bella Donna is a 1909 British novel by the British writer Robert Hichens. A flighty young Englishwoman marries an Egyptologist. Once on the archaeological site she falls for a suave Egyptian, and plots to do away with her husband.
