The Broken Butterfly | |
---|---|
Directed by | Maurice Tourneur |
Written by | H. Tipton Steck Maurice Tourneur Charles E. Whittaker |
Based on | Marcene by Penelope Knapp |
Produced by | Maurice Tourneur |
Starring | Lew Cody Mary Alden Pauline Starke |
Production company | Maurice Tourneur Productions |
Distributed by | Robertson-Cole Distributing Corporation |
Release date |
|
Running time | 5 reels |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
The Broken Butterfly is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by Maurice Tourneur and starring Lew Cody, Mary Alden, and Pauline Starke. [1] [2]
While strolling through the forests of Canada, Marcène Elliot (Starke), a naive young woman meets Daniel Thorn (Cody), a composer looking for inspiration for a symphony. They are fascinated by each other and she abandons herself into her lover's arms. Daniel then writes a symphony and calls it “Marcène” after her. He then asks her to accompany him to "the old continent" for the first time, but she refuses, fearing the anger of her Aunt Julie Elliot (Alden).
Marcène gives birth to a little girl and then her aunt rejects her. Her own fears push her to attempt suicide. Upon returning, Daniel learns from Aunt Julie that Marcène gave birth to his child and that she drowned herself and her daughter. He then travels to forget his pain and meets Marcène's sister in England where she is playing his symphony. They get to know each other, finally fall in love and get married. Upon returning to Canada, they discover that Marcène and her daughter are still alive, but that Marcène lays dying in her bed. In agreement with his wife, they hide their marriage from Marcène. She dies happy and the couple adopts the little girl.
A print of The Broken Butterfly is listed in the catalog of the French archive Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée in Fort de Bois-d'Arcy. [3]
Maurice Félix Thomas, known as Maurice Tourneur, was a French film director and screenwriter.
Pauline Starke was an American silent-film actress.
Mary Maguire Alden was an American motion picture and stage actress. She was one of the first Broadway actresses to work in Hollywood.
A Slave of Fashion is a 1925 American silent romantic comedy film directed by Hobart Henley. The film stars Norma Shearer and Lew Cody, with William Haines. A young Joan Crawford had an early uncredited role as a mannequin.
Bright Lights is a 1925 American silent romantic comedy film directed by Robert Z. Leonard. The film is based on the story "A Little Bit of Broadway" by Richard Connell, and stars Charles Ray, who achieved stardom by playing ingenious country boys.
The Rise of Jennie Cushing is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Maurice Tourneur, produced by Famous Players–Lasky, and distributed by Artcraft Pictures, an affiliate of Paramount Pictures. The story based upon the novel The Rise of Jennie Cushing by Mary Watts and stars Broadway's Elsie Ferguson. The film marked Ferguson's second motion picture. It is a lost film.
Sporting Life is a lost 1918 American silent drama film directed by Maurice Tourneur. It is the first film for sisters Faire Binney and Constance Binney, from the Broadway stage. Tourneur would re-film this story again in 1925.
Prunella is a 1918 American silent romantic fantasy film directed by Maurice Tourneur. The film is based on the 1906 play Prunella, or, Love in a Dutch Garden by Laurence Housman and Harley Granville-Barker, and stars Marguerite Clark in the title role. Clark also starred in the 1913 Winthrop Ames produced Broadway stage production on which the film is based. The majority of the film is considered lost, with only fragments still in existence.
Women Love Diamonds is a 1927 American black and white silent melodrama directed by Edmund Goulding and starring Pauline Starke, Owen Moore, and Lionel Barrymore.
For Husbands Only is 1918 American silent comedy-drama film and directed by Lois Weber and her husband Phillips Smalley. The film was distributed by Universal Pictures. The film was apparently made in late 1917 but not released until just before the end of World War I. For Husband's Only is now considered to be a lost film.
My Lady's Garter is a lost 1920 American silent mystery film directed by Maurice Tourneur and starring Wyndham Standing, Sylvia Breamer and Holmes Herbert. It was based on the 1912 novel of the same name by Jacques Futrelle, a writer who perished with the sinking of the Titanic in 1912.
The Life Line is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by Maurice Tourneur and starring Jack Holt, Wallace Beery and Lew Cody. The picture was based on the play The Romany Rye by the British playwright George R. Sims. The film is set amongst the criminal classes in the slums of London.
Marcelle Chantal (1901–1960) was a French stage and film actress. Chantal appeared in a number of leading roles in films such as Maurice Tourneur's In the Name of the Law (1932). Early in her career she married British banker Jefferson Davis Cohn and was billed as Marcelle Jefferson-Cohn.
Departure is a 1931 French drama film directed by Maurice Tourneur and starring Jean Marchat, Simone Cerdan and Gaby Basset. It was based on a novel by Roland Dorgelès. It was shot at the Saint-Maurice Studios in Paris. The film's sets were designed by the art director Jacques Colombier.
One Wild Week is a lost 1921 American silent comedy romance film directed by Maurice Campbell and starring Bebe Daniels. Adolph Zukor produced the film through his Realart Pictures Corporation.
Jealous Husbands is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by Maurice Tourneur and starring Earle Williams, Jane Novak, and Ben Alexander.
The Pawn of Fate is a 1916 American silent drama film directed by Maurice Tourneur and starring George Beban, Doris Kenyon, and Charles W. Charles.
The Butterfly on the Wheel is a lost 1915 American silent drama film directed by Maurice Tourneur and starring Holbrook Blinn, Vivian Martin and George Relph.
Trilby is a 1915 American silent drama film directed by Maurice Tourneur and starring Wilton Lackaye, Clara Kimball Young, and Paul McAllister. It is an adaptation of the 1894 novel Trilby by George du Maurier. The film's sets were designed by art director Ben Carré.
Suzanne Delvé (1892–1986) was a French film actress. While most of her roles were during the silent era, she also appeared in a few sound films such as Maurice Tourneur's Accused, Stand Up! (1930).