The Girl Without a Soul | |
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Directed by | John H. Collins |
Produced by | B.A. Rolfe |
Cinematography | John Arnold |
Distributed by | Metro Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 5 reels (approximately 50 minutes) |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
The Girl Without a Soul is a 1917 American silent feature film featuring Viola Dana in a dual role as sisters.
The film was produced by B.A. Rolfe and shot in the Fort Lee, New Jersey area. Rolfe moved his production company Rolfe Photoplays west to Hollywood in the wake of the 1918 influenza epidemic, but not before director Collins fell victim and died in a New York hotel room in October of that year. [1]
This film is preserved complete at the George Eastman House Motion Picture Collection in New York. [2] In 2018, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." [3] [4] [5]
As described in a film magazine, [6] Priscilla and Unity Beaumont (Dana) are as different as night and day. Priscilla longs for a career on the concert stage, while Unity is the family drudge. Ivor (Jones), a Russian violinist, persuades Priscilla to steal some money from the village blacksmith Hiram Miller (Walker), which he was holding in trust to purchase a new church organ. Unity, who is in love with Hiram, learns of the location of the money and restores it to the church during the trial of Hiram. Hiram is freed of the charge, and Priscilla learns that Ivor is but a deceiver.
Like many American films of the time, The Girl Without a Soul was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. The Chicago Board of Censors cut a scene with money being taken from a tin box, the intertitle "You had better remain here and go away tomorrow," and a vision of the girl taking money from the tin box. [7]
The Immigrant is a 1917 American silent romantic comedy short. The film stars Charlie Chaplin's Tramp character as an immigrant coming to the United States who is accused of theft on the voyage across the Atlantic Ocean and falls in love with a beautiful young woman along the way. It also stars Edna Purviance and Eric Campbell.
Wild and Woolly is a 1917 American silent Western comedy film which tells the story of one man's personal odyssey from cowboy-obsessed Easterner to Western tough guy. It stars Douglas Fairbanks, Eileen Percy, Walter Bytell and Sam De Grasse. The film was adapted by Anita Loos from a story by Horace B. Carpenter and was directed by John Emerson.
Viola Dana was an American film actress who was successful during the era of silent films. She appeared in over 100 films, but was unable to make the transition to sound films.
The Soul Herder is a 1917 American silent Western film directed by John Ford, and featuring Harry Carey. The film is presumed to be lost. The film was premiered in Dayton, Ohio, on August 3, 1917.
The Red Ace is a 1917 American adventure film serial directed by Jacques Jaccard. An incomplete print which is missing four chapters survives in the film archive of the Library of Congress.
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Thais is a 1917 American silent drama film produced by Samuel Goldwyn, and based on the 1890 novel Thaïs by Anatole France. This film featured opera prima donna Mary Garden, making her film debut at the then-lavish weekly salary of US$15,000. Other cast members include Lionel Adams, Crauford Kent, and Charles Trowbridge. This film is considered "one of the most colossal flops in movie history, both artistically and financially".
Mr. Fix-It is a 1918 American silent comedy film starring Douglas Fairbanks, Marjorie Daw, and Wanda Hawley, directed by Allan Dwan.
Baby Mine is a 1917 American silent comedy film directed by both John S. Robertson and Hugo Ballin and starring Madge Kennedy. The picture marked Kennedy's screen debut and was one of the first films produced by Samuel Goldwyn as an independent after founding his own studio.
Blue Jeans is a 1917 American silent drama film, based on the 1890 play Blue Jeans by Joseph Arthur that opened in New York City to great popularity. The sensation of the play was a dramatic scene where the unconscious hero is placed on a board approaching a huge buzz saw in a sawmill, later imitated to the point of cliché.
Riders of the Night is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by John H. Collins and starred his wife Viola Dana. It was produced and distributed by the Metro Pictures company.
Alimony is a lost 1917 American silent drama film directed by Emmett J. Flynn and starring Lois Wilson. An unknown Rudolph Valentino has a role as a supporting player.
The Unbeliever is a 1918 American silent propaganda film made towards the end of World War I. It was directed by Alan Crosland for the Edison Company towards its last days as a functioning film-making company. It stars Raymond McKee and Marguerite Courtot, who married a few years later, and Erich von Stroheim.
On the Level is a lost 1917 American silent Western film directed by George Melford and written by Marion Fairfax and Charles Kenyon. The film stars Fannie Ward, Jack Dean, Harrison Ford, Lottie Pickford, James Cruze, and Jim Mason. The film was released on September 10, 1917, by Paramount Pictures.
The Countess Charming is a lost 1917 American silent comedy film directed by Donald Crisp and written by Gelett Burgess, Carolyn Wells, and Gardner Hunting. The film stars Julian Eltinge, Florence Vidor, Tully Marshall, George Kuwa, Edythe Chapman, and Mabel Van Buren. The film was released on September 16, 1917, by Paramount Pictures.
The Trouble Buster is a lost 1917 American drama silent film directed by Frank Reicher, written by Tom Forman and Gardner Hunting, and starring Vivian Martin, James Neill, Paul Willis, Charles West, Louise Harris, and Mary Mersch. It was released on October 8, 1917, by Paramount Pictures.
The Son of His Father is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Victor Schertzinger and written by Ridgwell Cullum. The film stars Charles Ray, Vola Vale, Robert McKim, George Nichols, Charles K. French, and J. P. Lockney. The film was released on October 22, 1917, by Paramount Pictures.
Love Letters is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Roy William Neill and written by Ella Stuart Carson and Shannon Fife. The film stars Dorothy Dalton, William Conklin, Dorcas Matthews, Thurston Hall, Hayward Mack, and William Hoffman. The film was released on December 24, 1917, by Paramount Pictures. A print of Love Letters is held by the Library of Congress.
Tyrant Fear is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by Roy William Neill, written by R. Cecil Smith, and starring Dorothy Dalton, Thurston Hall, Melbourne MacDowell, William Conklin, Lou Salter, and Carmen Phillips. It was released on April 29, 1918, by Paramount Pictures. A print of the film is held by the Library of Congress.
John H. Collins was an American writer and director of the silent film era. He married film actress Viola Dana. His career was cut short when he died at the age of 28 due to the 1918 influenza epidemic. During his career which began in 1914, he directed more than 40 features and film shorts, and wrote the scenario for over a dozen more features. His 1917 film The Girl Without a Soul was selected by the National Film Registry to be preserved by the Library of Congress. His final works were shown posthumously in 1919.