The Dancer of Paris

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The Dancer of Paris
Dorothy Mackaill, film actress (SAYRE 5382).jpg
Still with Mackaill
Directed by Alfred Santell
Written by Michael Arlen(story)
Produced by Robert Kane
Starring Dorothy Mackaill
Cinematography Ernest Haller
Production
company
Distributed byFirst National Pictures
Release date
  • February 28, 1926 (1926-02-28)
Running time
70 minutes
CountryUnited States
Language Silent (English intertitles)
The Dancer of Paris ad in Motion Picture News, 1926 The Dancer of Paris ad in Motion Picture News (March 6, 1926 to April 24, 1926) (page 226 crop).jpg
The Dancer of Paris ad in Motion Picture News, 1926

The Dancer of Paris is a lost 1926 American silent drama film produced and distributed by First National Pictures. It was directed by Alfred Santell and starred Dorothy Mackaill. [1] [2] A vintage movie trailer displaying short clips of the film still exists.

Contents

Plot

As described in a film magazine review, [3] Florida flapper Consuelo Cox accepts Sir Roy Martel's proposal, but then overhears him say that he does not really intend to marry her and discovers that his love for her is of the basest sort. She breaks her engagement and swears revenge, vowing to ruin him. Consuelo goes to Paris, becomes a professional dancer at the Boule Rouge, and obtains the apartment across from Sir Roy. At a bachelor party she performs at, the nude female statutes suddenly come to life and join in the festivities. Consuelo falls in love with Noel Anson, a friend of her uncles. Sir Roy, dying in his apartment, calls for her. She dances for him in a decidedly abbreviated costume until he passes, and then falls into the arms of Noel.

Cast

Reception

Film reviews noted that Mackaill's dancer character was barely dressed at times, [3] [4] in one scene wearing just stones and beadwork and in the finale wearing only a loincloth, breastplate, and cloke, and then starting to remove this clothing. [5] [6] Because of this, like many American films of the time, The Dancer of Paris was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. While the National Board of Review did not require any cuts, the film censor boards of Virginia required 6 cuts, Pennsylvania required 16 cuts, New York 5 cuts, Ohio 10 cuts, and Chicago 4 cuts. The reasons for the cuts varied, while Virginia cut scenes with nudity, Pennsylvania cut nude scenes, suggested drug use, cut or flashed suggestive scenes, and cut or reworded some intertitles. [7] One intertitle changed by this state was from, "You are obsessed by an insane desire to intrigue women—to make love to them—to hurt them," to the very different statement, "You are obsessed by an insane desire to marry—when the state of your health positively forbids it." [7] [8]

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References

  1. ↑ The American Film Institute Catalog of Feature Films: 1921-30, The American Film Institute, c.1971
  2. ↑ Progressive Silent Film List: The Dancer of Paris at silentera.com
  3. 1 2 Elliott, Frank (March 13, 1926), "Pre-Release Review of Features: The Dancer of Paris", Motion Picture News, New York City, New York: Motion Picture News, Inc., 33 (11): 1211, retrieved April 5, 2023, Some Parisian parties and dances that go Avery Hopwood and Earl Carroll several better and costumes that startle in their brevity.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  4. ↑ Orndorff, Marguerite (June 1926). "Theatrical Film Reviews for June". The Educational Screen. Chicago, Illinois: The Educational Screen, Inc. 5 (6): 360. Retrieved April 5, 2023. An apparently important part of her revenge is to wear as few clothes as possible.
  5. ↑ Anderson, Patricia (2001). Passion Lost: Public Sex, Private Desire in the Twentieth Century. Canada: Thomas Allen Publishers. p. 74. ISBN   978-0-9190-2841-8.
  6. ↑ Leff, Leonard J.; Simmons, Jerold L. (2013). The Dame in the Kimono: Hollywood, Censorship, and the Production Code. University Press of Kentucky. p. 6. ISBN   978-0-8131-4345-3.
  7. 1 2 McCabe, George P. (1926). Forces Molding and Muddling the Movies. Washington, D.C. pp. 25–26, 30.
  8. ↑ Johnson, William Bruce (2008). Miracles & Sacrilege: Roberto Rossellini, the Church and Film Censorship in Hollywood. University of Toronto Press. p. 94. ISBN   978-0-8020-9493-3.


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