The Idol Dancer | |
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![]() The 1920 promotional posted for The Idol Dancer | |
Directed by | D. W. Griffith |
Written by | Stanner E. V. Taylor |
Based on | "Blood of the Covenants" by Gordon Ray Young |
Produced by | D. W. Griffith |
Starring | Richard Barthelmess Clarine Seymour |
Cinematography | Paul H. Allen G. W. Bitzer |
Edited by | James Smith |
Distributed by | First National Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 104 minutes 92 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
Budget | $93,000 [1] |
Box office | $963,000 [1] |
The Idol Dancer is a 1920 American silent South Seas drama film produced and directed by D. W. Griffith. It stars Richard Barthelmess and Clarine Seymour in her final film role. Seymour was a young actress Griffith was grooming for stardom. She died of pneumonia shortly after emergency surgery for an intestinal blockage on April 24, 1920, less than a month after the film premiered. [2] [3]
The film is based on the story "Blood of the Covenants" by Gordon Ray Young. The scenario was written by Stanner E. V. Taylor. [4]
Mary (Seymour) is the daughter of a French man and a Javanese mother and enjoys dancing. She has two lovers. One is a beachcomber named Barthelmess, who was tossed off a passing ship for failing to work and only seeks to drink gin. The other, named Hale, is a sickly young American who came to the island in hopes of regaining his health and is staying with his missionary uncle, named MacQuarrie, and his wife, named Bruce.
While on the island, natives from a neighboring island attack. The beachcomber reforms, and Mary comes to love him. [5]
Griffith filmed exteriors for The Idol Dancer simultaneously with The Love Flower , including filming in Nassau, Bahamas in December 1919 and in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 1920. [6] [7]
A 35mm print of the film is preserved by the Cohen Media Group. 16mm prints of the film are held in private collections. [2]
Richard Semler Barthelmess was an American film actor, principally of the Hollywood silent era. He starred opposite Lillian Gish in D. W. Griffith's Broken Blossoms (1919) and Way Down East (1920) and was among the founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1927. The following year, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for two films: The Patent Leather Kid and The Noose.
Corinne Griffith was an American film actress, producer, author and businesswoman. Dubbed "The Orchid Lady of the Screen," she was widely regarded as one of the most beautiful actresses of the silent film era. In addition to her beauty, Griffith achieved critical recognition for her performance in Frank Lloyd's The Divine Lady (1929), which earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.
The year 1920 in film involved some significant events.
Sarah Blanche Sweet was an American silent film actress who began her career in the early days of the motion picture film industry.
Robert Emmett Harron was an American motion picture actor of the early silent film era. Although he acted in over 200 films, he is possibly best recalled for his roles in the D.W. Griffith directed films The Birth of a Nation (1915) and Intolerance (1916).
Tol'able David is a 1921 American silent film based on the 1917 Joseph Hergesheimer short story of the same name. It was adapted to the screen by Edmund Goulding and directed by Henry King for Inspiration Pictures. A rustic tale of violence set in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, it was filmed in Blue Grass, Virginia, with some locals featured in minor roles.
Way Down East is a 1920 American silent romantic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. It is one of four film adaptations of the melodramatic 19th century play of the same name by Lottie Blair Parker. There were two earlier silent versions and one sound version in 1935 starring Henry Fonda. Griffith's version is particularly remembered for its climax in which Gish's character is rescued from doom on an icy river.
Dorothy Mackaill was a British-American actress, most active during the silent-film era and into the pre-Code era of the early 1930s.
Stanner E.V. Taylor was an American screenwriter and film director of the silent era. He wrote for more than 100 films between 1908 and 1929.
George MacQuarrie, was an American actor of the silent era.
Clarine E. Seymour was an American silent film actress.
Soul-Fire is a 1925 American silent drama film starring Richard Barthelmess and Bessie Love. It was directed by John S. Robertson and was based on the Broadway production Great Music (1924) by Martin Brown.
The White Rose is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by D. W. Griffith. The film was written, produced, and directed by Griffith, and stars Mae Marsh, Ivor Novello, Carol Dempster, and Neil Hamilton. Though this film is extant, it is one of Griffith's rarely seen films.
Scarlet Days is a 1919 American silent Western film produced and directed by D. W. Griffith and released through Paramount/Artcraft Pictures, Artcraft being an affiliate of Paramount. Richard Barthelmess stars in a role for which Griffith had screentested Rudolph Valentino. In today's time, this film is considered by many to be one of Griffith's worst films though it might have worked better as a short film. This film was unlike others created by D.W. Griffith. According to an article written for The Cincinnati Enquirer, written on the 16 of November 1919: "Unlike other recent Griffith production, Scarlet Days is a story of the old West, of the gold rush days of 49- Bret Harte transferred to the screen!" The Western film genre was expanding at this time and Scarlet Days fits into this category. Western films were popular for this time.
The Girl Who Stayed at Home is a 1919 American silent drama film produced and directed by D. W. Griffith and released by Paramount Pictures. Prints of the film exist.
The Love Flower is a 1920 American silent drama film produced by D. W. Griffith and released through the then nascent United Artist company of which Griffith was a founding partner.
Mary Hay Caldwell was an American dancer, musical comedy and silent screen actress, playwright, and former Ziegfeld girl.
Just Suppose is a 1926 American silent drama film produced by and starring Richard Barthelmess with distribution through First National Pictures. Kenneth Webb directed Barthelmess and young Lois Moran star. The film is based on the 1920 Broadway play Just Suppose by Albert E. Thomas.
Summer Bachelors is a 1926 American silent romantic comedy film produced and directed by Allan Dwan. The film is based on the 1926 novel Summer Widowers by Warner Fabian and stars Madge Bellamy, Matt Moore, Allan Forrest, and Hale Hamilton.
The Yaqui Cur is a 1913 American silent Western black and white film directed by D. W. Griffith, written by Stanner E.V. Taylor and starring Robert Harron, Kate Bruce, Walter Miller, Charles Hill Mailes and Victoria Forde. Griffith directed seven films with more than one reel, including The Yaqui Cur and The Little Tease (1913).