Souls for Sale

Last updated

Souls for Sale
Souls for Sale (1923) film poster.jpg
Original theatrical poster
Directed by Rupert Hughes
Written byRupert Hughes (adaptation)
Based onSouls for Sale
1922 novel
by Rupert Hughes
Produced byRupert Hughes
Starring Eleanor Boardman
Frank Mayo
Mae Busch
Richard Dix
Lew Cody
Barbara La Marr
Cinematography John J. Mescall
Music byMarcus Sjöwall (2006)
Production
company
Release date
  • March 27, 1923 (1923-03-27)(U.S.)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
Language Silent (English intertitles)

Souls for Sale is a 1923 American silent comedy drama [1] film written, directed, and produced by Rupert Hughes, based on the novel of the same name by Hughes. The film stars Eleanor Boardman in her first leading role, having won a contract with Goldwyn Pictures through their highly publicized "New Faces of 1922" contest just two years earlier.

Contents

The film is notable for its insights into the early film industry. Among the significant cameos in the film are appearances by directors King Vidor, Fred Niblo, Marshall Neilan, Charlie Chaplin, and Erich von Stroheim, as well as a number of actors, producers, and other filmmakers. Souls for Sale includes rare behind-the-scenes footage of Chaplin and von Stroheim directing the films A Woman of Paris and Greed , respectively.

Souls for Sale was previously thought to have been lost until incomplete prints of the film were discovered. The film was later restored and aired on Turner Classic Movies and was released on DVD in June 2009. [2]

Souls for Sale is one of many works from 1923 that entered the public domain in the United States in 2019.

Plot

The full film.

Remember "Mem" Steddon marries Owen Scudder after a whirlwind courtship. However, on their wedding night, she has a change of heart. When the train taking them to Los Angeles stops for water, she impulsively and secretly gets off in the middle of the desert. Strangely, when Scudder realizes she is gone, he does not have the train stopped.

Mem sets off in search of civilization. Severely dehydrated, she sees an unusual sight: an Arab on a camel. It turns out to be actor Tom Holby; she has stumbled upon a film being shot on location. When she recuperates, she is given a role as an extra. Both Holby and director Frank Claymore are attracted to her. However, when filming ends, she does not follow the troupe back to Hollywood, but rather, gets a job at a desert inn.

Meanwhile, Scudder is recognized and arrested at the train station. He turns out to be a cold-blooded murderer who marries women, insures them, and then kills them for the payoff. He escapes and persuades a gullible Abigail Tweedy to file off his handcuffs. She becomes his next victim, though fortunately for her, he only assaults her and robs her of her savings. He leaves the country and targets Englishwoman "Lady Jane". To his profound embarrassment, she turns out to be the same sort of crook as he; she and her father "Lord Fryingham" rob him, but let him live.

When the inn closes for the season, Mem travels to Hollywood in search of work. Her actress friend from the desert shoot, Leva Lemaire, persuades Claymore to give her a screen test for the only uncast role in his next production: a comic part. Though she fails miserably, Claymore decides to train her anyway. She proves to be talented and steadily gets better and better parts.

Just as Mem is rising to fame, Scudder returns and sneaks into her bedroom. Holby and Claymore have become rivals for Mem's affections. When Scudder sees their warmly-autographed photographs, he flies into a jealous rage. Mem, aware of her husband's past and fearful of a career-ending scandal, offers him money to leave her alone, but he still wants her. Scudder leaves only when she threatens to kill herself. Claymore shows up, but when Scudder overhears the director propose marriage to his protégée, Scudder tries to shoot him. Claymore wrestles away his gun, but lets him go at Mem's urging.

When star Robina Teele is seriously injured by a falling light, Claymore decides to have Mem take her place. Filming continues on an outdoor circus set, complete with a full-scale Big Top tent. In the climax, a lightning storm sets the huge tent on fire in the middle of filming. (Claymore orders his cameramen to keep shooting.) Scudder, who has sneaked into the audience of extras, takes advantage of the panic and confusion to try to kill an unsuspecting Claymore by driving a wind machine (with a deadly propeller) at him. Holby spots Scudder and struggles with him. When Mem stumbles into the machine's path, Scudder rushes to save her and loses his own life. He apologizes before dying, explaining that all his life there was something wrong with him, but he did at least one thing right: they were never legally married after all. Afterward, Mem chooses Claymore over Holby.

Cast

Cast notes:

Production

Writer/director Rupert Hughes was the brother of Howard Hughes Sr., and he introduced his nephew Howard Hughes Jr. to the world of Hollywood movies. [6]

Reception

Carl Sandburg wrote in a contemporaneous review that it "[Sets] forth an eloquent advocacy of the viewpoint of Hollywood and the heart of moviedom by anyone who believes in it." [5] Roger Ebert called it "a prime example of the mid-range entertainment Hollywood was producing so skillfully at the time." [2] He also noted that Hughes "[A]dapted it from his own novel ... and judging by his title cards, he was well aware of how absurd his plot was." [2]

Rediscovery

Souls for Sale was thought to be lost, until copies began surfacing in various film vaults and private collections in the 1980s and 1990s. In 2005, a partnership between MGM and Turner Classic Movies resulted in a restored print of the film. Marcus Sjöwall, winner of TCM's Young Film Composers Competition, composed a new score for the film. The restored version with the new score premiered on TCM on January 24, 2006. [2]

Home media

In June 2009, the Warner Archive Collection released Souls for Sale on manufactured-on-demand DVD. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Greed</i> (1924 film) 1924 film by Erich von Stroheim

Greed is a 1924 American silent psychological drama film written and directed by Erich von Stroheim and based on the 1899 Frank Norris novel McTeague. It stars Gibson Gowland as Dr. John McTeague; ZaSu Pitts as Trina Sieppe, his wife; and Jean Hersholt as McTeague's friend and eventual enemy Marcus Schouler. The film tells the story of McTeague, a San Francisco dentist, who marries his best friend Schouler's girlfriend Trina.

<i>Sunset Boulevard</i> (film) 1950 film by Billy Wilder

Sunset Boulevard is a 1950 American black comedy film noir directed by Billy Wilder and co-written by Wilder and Charles Brackett. It is named after a major street that runs through Hollywood.

<i>The Wind</i> (1928 film) 1928 film by Victor Sjöström

The Wind is a 1928 American synchronized sound romantic drama film directed by Victor Sjöström. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using both the sound-on-disc and sound-on-film process. The movie was adapted by Frances Marion from the 1925 novel of the same name written by Dorothy Scarborough. Featuring Lillian Gish, Lars Hanson and Montagu Love, it is one of the last films released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer without audible dialogue and is considered to be among the greatest "silent" films.

<i>Chaplin</i> (film) 1992 film by Richard Attenborough

Chaplin is a 1992 biographical comedy-drama film about the life of English comic actor and filmmaker Charlie Chaplin. It was produced and directed by Richard Attenborough and stars Robert Downey Jr., Marisa Tomei, Dan Aykroyd, Penelope Ann Miller and Kevin Kline. It also features Charlie Chaplin's own daughter, Geraldine Chaplin, in the role of his mother, Hannah Chaplin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gloria Swanson</span> American actress (1899–1983)

Gloria Josephine Mae Swanson was an American actress. She first achieved fame acting in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, most famously for her 1950 turn in Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard, which also earned her a Golden Globe Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louise Brooks</span> American actress (1906–1985)

Mary Louise Brooks was an American film actress during the 1920s and 1930s. She is regarded today as an icon of the flapper culture, in part due to the bob hairstyle that she helped popularize during the prime of her career.

<i>Guilty as Sin</i> 1993 drama thriller film by Sidney Lumet

Guilty as Sin is a 1993 American legal thriller film written by Larry Cohen, directed by Sidney Lumet and produced by Martin Ransohoff. It stars Rebecca De Mornay and Don Johnson, and was produced by Hollywood Pictures.

<i>Hells Angels</i> (film) 1930 film

Hell's Angels is a 1930 American pre-Code independent epic war film directed and produced by Howard Hughes and director of dialogue James Whale. Written by Harry Behn and Howard Estabrook and starring Ben Lyon, James Hall and Jean Harlow, it was released through United Artists. It follows two dissimilar brothers, both members of the British Royal Flying Corps during the First World War.

<i>The Cats Meow</i> 2001 film by Peter Bogdanovich

The Cat's Meow is a 2001 historical drama film directed by Peter Bogdanovich, and starring Kirsten Dunst, Eddie Izzard, Edward Herrmann, Cary Elwes, Joanna Lumley, Jennifer Tilly, and Ronan Vibert. The screenplay by Steven Peros is based on his 1997 play of the same title, which was inspired by the mysterious death of film mogul Thomas H. Ince that occurred on William Randolph Hearst's yacht during a weekend cruise celebrating Ince's birthday in November 1924. Among those in attendance were Hearst's longtime companion and film actress Marion Davies, fellow actor Charlie Chaplin, writer Elinor Glyn, columnist Louella Parsons, and actress Margaret Livingston. The film provides a speculative assessment on the unclear manner of Ince's death.

<i>The Great Flamarion</i> 1945 film by Anthony Mann

The Great Flamarion is a 1945 American film noir mystery film directed by Anthony Mann starring Erich von Stroheim and Mary Beth Hughes. The film, like many films noirs, is shot in flashback narrative. The film was produced by Republic Pictures.

<i>Show People</i> 1928 film by King Vidor

Show People is a 1928 American synchronized sound comedy film directed by King Vidor. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using both the sound-on-disc and sound-on-film process. The film was a starring vehicle for actress Marion Davies and actor William Haines and included notable cameo appearances by many of the film personalities of the day, including stars Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, William S. Hart and John Gilbert, and writer Elinor Glyn. Vidor also appears in a cameo as himself, as does Davies.

<i>A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies</i> 1995 film directed by Martin Scorsese and Michael Henry Wilson

A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies is a 1995 British documentary film of 225 minutes in length, presented by Martin Scorsese and produced by the British Film Institute.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">June Mathis</span> American screenwriter, producer and film studio executive

June Mathis was an American screenwriter. Mathis was the first female executive for Metro/MGM and at only 35, she was the highest paid executive in Hollywood. In 1926 she was voted the third most influential woman in Hollywood, behind Mary Pickford and Norma Talmadge. Mathis is best remembered for discovering Rudolph Valentino and writing such films as The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921), and Blood and Sand (1922).

<i>Alraune</i> (1952 film) 1952 West German film

Alraune, later renamed Unnatural: The Fruit of Evil, is a 1952 black and white West German science fiction film, directed by Arthur Maria Rabenalt and starring Hildegard Knef and Erich von Stroheim. The film is based on the 1911 novel Alraune by German novelist Hanns Heinz Ewers. The plot involves a scientist who creates a woman (Knef) who is beautiful yet soulless, lacking any sense of morality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucille Ricksen</span> American child actress (1910-1925)

Lucille Ricksen was an American motion picture actress during the silent film era. She died of tuberculosis on March 13, 1925, at the age of 14.

<i>Spring Fever</i> (1927 film) 1927 film

Spring Fever is a 1927 American silent comedy film starring William Haines, Joan Crawford, and George K. Arthur, and directed by Edward Sedgwick. Based on the 1925 play of the same name by Vincent Lawrence, this was the second film starring Haines and Crawford, and their first onscreen romantic teaming.

<i>Foolish Wives</i> 1922 film

Foolish Wives is a 1922 American erotic silent drama film produced and distributed by Universal Pictures under their Super-Jewel banner and written and directed by Erich von Stroheim. The drama features von Stroheim, Rudolph Christians, Miss DuPont, Maude George, and others.

<i>Blind Husbands</i> 1919 film directed by Erich von Stroheim

Blind Husbands is a 1919 American drama film written and directed by Erich von Stroheim. The film is an adaptation of the story The Pinnacle by Stroheim.

<i>The Lost Squadron</i> 1932 film

The Lost Squadron is a 1932 American pre-Code drama, action, film starring Richard Dix, Mary Astor, and Robert Armstrong, with Erich von Stroheim and Joel McCrea in supporting roles, and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Based on the novel The Lost Squadron (1932) by Dick Grace, the film is about three World War I pilots who find jobs after the war as Hollywood stunt fliers.

<i>Memory Lane</i> (1926 film) 1926 film by John M. Stahl

Memory Lane is a 1926 American silent romantic comedy film directed by John M. Stahl and starring Eleanor Boardman, Conrad Nagel, and William Haines.

References

  1. "Souls for Sale (1923)". American Film Institute.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Ebert, Roger (July 29, 2009). "Souls for Sale Movie Review". Chicago Sun-Times via RogerEbert.com.
  3. Mann, William J. (1998). Wisecracker: The Life and Times of William Haines, Hollywood's First Openly Gay Star . Viking Penguin. p.  393. ISBN   0-670-87155-9.
  4. Porter, Darwin (2005). Howard Hughes: Hell's Angel. Blood Moon Productions, Ltd. p.  74. ISBN   978-0-9748118-1-9.
  5. 1 2 Sandburg, Carl (2000). The Movies Are: Carl Sandburg's Film Reviews and Essays, 1920–1928. Lake Claremont Press. pp.  170–171. ISBN   978-1-893121-05-8.
  6. Wood, Brett. "Souls for Sale" (article) on TCM.com