She is a 1911 American fantasy silent film and is the first film to attempt to portray the story in the 1887 novel of the same name by H. Rider Haggard. Made by the Thanhouser Company, the film was directed by George Nichols and featured his wife Viola Alberti as Amenartes. It starred Marguerite Snow in the title role [1] and James Cruze in the joint role of Kallikrates and Leo Vincey [2] and was based on a scenario by Theodore Marston. [3] [4]
The film opens in an outer court of a temple in ancient Egypt in the year 350 B.C. Here Amenartas, the Pharaoh's daughter (Viola Alberti) awaits her love, Kallikrates (James Cruze), who has just become a Priest of Isis. She begs him to leave the priesthood and flee with her from Egypt. Eventually he can resist her entreaties no longer and they escape from the temple. In the desert they meet friendly Arabs who give the weak Kallikrates a camel on which to travel. [5]
After journeying for "twice twelve moons" they land with their infant son on the East coast of Africa at a point called the Negro's Head. Here lives "She Who Must Be Obeyed" (Marguerite Snow), the white witch of Africa, who has learned the secret of eternal youth. With her mystic power "She" sees Kallikrates approach and realises he is the perfect man who must join her by bathing in the fires of eternal youth and with her rule the world. "She" takes Amenartas and Kallikrates to the mystic flame but when Kallikrates spurns her love "She" strikes him down dead. Amenartas flees to safety with her infant son, vowing that one day her son or his descendants will return to avenge her husband's death. The body of her dead love is preserved through the generations by "She", who patiently awaits the return of his reincarnation. [5]
Centuries later, in 1885, while "She Who Never Dies" continues to grieve for her lost love, Horace Holly (William C. Cooper) becomes the guardian of the young English boy Leo Vincey (Marie Eline) on the death of the boy's father. Leo is the descendant of Kallikrates. With the boy comes a mysterious chest and a letter saying the trunk must not be opened before Leo's 25th birthday.
In 1910 Leo Vincey (James Cruze) is now 25. He and Holly open the chest to discover a letter and a chart; the former entreat them to avenge the death of Kallikrates while the chart shows them the way. The two travel to the East coast of Africa where they see a strange rock, the Negro's Head. "She" sees Leo approach in a vision; so alike is he to Kallikrates that she believes him to be the reincarnation of her dead love. Leo's boat is stopped by a tribe of natives who blindfold him and Holly lead them into the presence of "She”- who welcomes Leo as her lost love. However, Leo tells "She" he has come to end her life in revenge for the death of his ancestor. "She" gives him a knife and baring her bosom bids him to strike, but blinded by her beauty he is unable to do so . After leading Leo and Holly through passageways cut deep into the rock "She" reveals to Leo the perfectly preserved mummy of Kallikrates. So alike is it to Leo that he believes it actually is himself. "She" destroys the mummy as she believes she has found her living love. [5]
Leading Leo and Holly to the cave which contains the Pillar of Fire that has given her youth for 2,000 years, "She" entreats Leo to step into the flame so that he too will receive eternal youth and live with her forever. As Leo hesitates “She” steps into the flames to calm his fears. However, in the many centuries since “She” last stepped into them the nature of the flames has changed and she instantly grows old, until she shrivels into an ape-like creature. Reaching out to Leo and begging him to remember her "She" dies. Driven nearly mad by what they have just seen, Holly and Leo make their way back to the village. Leaving the strange land they return to England where Leo’s golden hair turns white with the shock of all he has seen. As he destroys all record of "She” he knows the honour of his ancient ancestor has been avenged. [5]
She was the first attempt in film to depict the story in H. Rider Haggard's 1887 novel She: A History of Adventure ; an earlier film, The Pillar of Fire (1899) by Georges Méliès, was a short silent trick film in which the central character Ayesha stands amid flames. [6] In the 1911 film only the main scenes from the novel are depicted with intertitles serving to explain the forthcoming scene; one states that "She" strikes down and kills Leo Vincey but the actors do not depict this. The "dialogue" is accompanied by dramatic gesticulation from the actors while the character of Ustane is barely recognisable. [7]
Running at 24 minutes 40 seconds and released on 26 December 1911, [2] She was Thanhouser's first two-reel production. Made quickly in a week, probably in November 1911, the film marked Thanhouser's attempt to depict the epic romance of H. Rider Haggard's tale of love across the centuries. Made on a low budget (the characters arrive off the African coast in a row boat!) [4] the film was made with only a dozen or so actors and extras and cheaply painted scenery. Despite the claim that "The Thanhouser picture of She was made in several different locations, some of them requiring the company to travel 500 miles" [8] in reality a few icy November coastal locations in upstate New York, including Long Island Sound, [7] stand in for the East African coast; and while the production boasts a real camel in the desert scenes the buildings in the distance are clearly not African. In the tomb scene in Part II where James Cruze as Leo Vincey looks upon the dead body of himself as Kallikrates, double exposure photography was used. In the scene where "She" shrinks into the small mis-shapen creature a child or dwarf was used in make-up. [3] [7] [9]
Sir Henry Rider Haggard was an English writer of adventure fiction romances set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa, and a pioneer of the lost world literary genre. He was also involved in land reform throughout the British Empire. His stories, situated at the lighter end of Victorian literature, continue to be popular and influential.
She, subtitled A History of Adventure, is a novel by the English writer H. Rider Haggard, published in book form in 1887 following serialisation in The Graphic magazine between October 1886 and January 1887. She was extraordinarily popular upon its release and has never been out of print.
James Cruze was a silent film actor and film director.
Ayesha, the Return of She is a gothic-fantasy novel by the English Victorian author H. Rider Haggard, published in 1905 as a sequel to his 1887 novel She. Chronologically, it is the final novel of the Ayesha and Allan Quatermain series. It was serialised in issues 120 to 130 of the Windsor Magazine, where it was illustrated by Maurice Greiffenhagen.
She is a 1965 British adventure film made by Hammer Film Productions in CinemaScope, based on the 1887 novel by H. Rider Haggard. It was directed by Robert Day and stars Ursula Andress, Peter Cushing, Bernard Cribbins, John Richardson, Rosenda Monteros, and Christopher Lee. The film was an international success and led to a 1968 sequel, The Vengeance of She, with Olinka Berova in the title role.
She is a 1935 American adventure film produced by Merian C. Cooper. Based on the 1887 novel of the same name by H. Rider Haggard, the screenplay draws on all the books in the series: the first aforementioned book, She and Allan, The Return of She and Wisdom's Daughter.
Marguerite Snow was an American silent film and stage actress. In her early films she was billed as Margaret Snow.
Marie Eline was an American silent film child actress and sister of Grace Eline. Their mother was an actress.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a 1912 horror film based on both Robert Louis Stevenson's novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886) and on the 1887 play version written by Thomas Russell Sullivan. Directed by Lucius Henderson, the film stars actor James Cruze in the dual role of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and co-starred his real life wife Marguerite Snow as well.
The Vengeance of She is a 1968 British fantasy film directed by Cliff Owen and starring John Richardson, Olinka Berova, Edward Judd, André Morell and Colin Blakely. It bears little in common with the 1905 novel Ayesha: The Return of She by H. Rider Haggard. It was made by Hammer Films as a loose sequel to the 1965 hit film She.
David Copperfield is a 1911 American silent short drama film based on the 1850 novel of the same name by Charles Dickens. It is the oldest known film adaptation of the novel.
She is a 1925 British-German fantasy adventure film made by Reciprocity Films, co-directed by Leander de Cordova and G. B. Samuelson, and starring Betty Blythe, Carlyle Blackwell, and Mary Odette. It was filmed in Berlin by a British film company as a co-production, and based on H. Rider Haggard's 1887 novel of the same name. According to the opening credits, the intertitles were specially written for the film by Haggard himself; he died in 1925, the year the film was made, and never got to see the finished film. The film still exists in its complete form today.
She is a 1917 American silent fantasy adventure drama film directed by Kenean Buel and produced and distributed by the Fox Film Corporation. It was loosely based on H. Rider Haggard's oft filmed 1887 best-selling novel, She: A History of Adventure. Now considered lost, the film starred Valeska Suratt and Ben Taggart.
Wisdom's Daughter is a fantasy novel by British writer H. Rider Haggard, published in 1923, by Hutchinson & Co in the UK and Doubleday, Page and Company in the US. It is the final published book in the Ayesha series but chronologically the first book in the series. Along with the other three novels in the series, Wisdom's Daughter was adapted into the 1935 film She.
The Best Man Wins is a 1910 American silent short drama produced by the Thanhouser Company. The film features Thanhouser's leading players Anna Rosemond, Martin Faust, Frank H. Crane and Marie Eline in a drama about morality. Two suitors are vying for the hand of Julia Seaton and propose to her on the same day, but she asks for a month to decide between them. In the time, the caliber of both men are tested when asked by a young girl, named May, to help her dying mother. The doctor refuses to help, and the lawyer offers his assistance, but her mother soon dies. The orphan is taken in by the Seaton family and personally attests to the character of both men when Julia Seaton has to choose between her suitors.
The American and the Queen is a 1910 American silent short drama produced by the Thanhouser Company. The film focuses on Maud, the fictional queen of Rumania, who is overthrown by her cousin, Rupert. Maud is thrown into prison after refusing the romantic advances of Rupert. She escapes with the aid of her lady-in-waiting and a priest. A wealthy American named Jack Walton, foils an assassination attempt on Maud and he falls in love with her. Maud is recaptured and set to be executed when the priest comes up with a plan to save her, by marrying Jack and Maud. The ceremony takes place through her cell window, and soon the United States military arrives to save the now wife of an American. Rupert is killed in the ensuing conflict. No known cast or production credits for the film is known. The film was released on November 11, 1910 and was met with neutral to negative reviews by critics. The patriotic element of the film was cited as likely being comical for European audiences and the film was also used as an example of an inappropriate example of American flag-waving. The film is presumed lost.
Hypnotized, released in Britain as A Quack Hypnotist, is a 1910 American silent short drama produced by the Thanhouser Company. The film focuses on May Smalley and Jack, who loves her, who attend a traveling show that comes to their little town. The show consists of a hypnotist and a Hindu magician and proves to be a popular show, but the hypnotist who is becomes interest in May. The hypnotist lures May away by telling her that he has a message for her from the spirit world and later gets her to leave town with him. Jack knocks the magician down and takes his costume and follows the hypnotist and May back to their hotel, where he rescues her. Aside from William Russell's role in the film, the production and cast credits are unknown. The film was released on December 30, 1910, it was met with positive reviews. The film is presumed lost.
The Little Mother is an American silent short drama film produced by the Thanhouser Company. The film stars Marie Eline who goes to her mother's employer and asks for her mother's job after she dies. Her employer is an artist with a kind heart and though the girl does not do the chores well. One of the artists models plot against him makes false charges against him, leading to his arrest. The little girl follows them and learns that they were out to obtain a large amount of money to have the false case dropped. She reports it to the police and the artist is freed, whereby he adopts the girl out of gratitude. Released on February 28, 1911, the film received mixed reviews. The film is presumed lost.
She is a 1916 British silent adventure film directed by Will Barker and Horace Lisle Lucoque and starring Alice Delysia, Henry Victor and Sydney Bland. It is an adaptation of H. Rider Haggard's 1887 novel She.
Viola Alberti was an American actress of the silent era known for being the first actress to play Betsey Trotwood in film - namely in the 1911 version of David Copperfield.
