The Passion Flower | |
---|---|
Directed by | Herbert Brenon |
Written by | Herbert Brenon Mary Murillo |
Based on | play The Unloved Woman by Jacinto Benavente |
Produced by | Norma Talmadge |
Starring | Norma Talmadge Courtenay Foote Eulalie Jensen |
Cinematography | J. Roy Hunt |
Production company | Norma Talmadge Film Corporation |
Distributed by | Associated First National Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 84 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
Box office | $182,039.88 [1] |
The Passion Flower is a 1921 American drama film starring Norma Talmadge, Courtenay Foote, and Eulalie Jensen, and directed by Herbert Brenon. It is based on the 1913 Spanish play The Unloved Woman (Spanish: La malquerida) by Jacinto Benavente. [2] The play was translated into English by John Garrett Underhill as The Passion Flower and successfully produced in 1920 in New York City. [3] The plot of the film involves the forbidden love of a man for his stepdaughter which leads to tragedy and murder.
As described in a film publication, [4] Esteban's (Foote) jealousy for his stepdaughter Acacia (Talmadge) results in his servant Rubio (Wilson) telling Acacia's sweetheart Norbert (Ford) that she loves another. Their betrothal is broken, and later Acacia accepts Faustino (Agnew). Rubio kills Faustino, and Norbert is tried for the crime but acquitted. When it becomes known that Esteban was the cause of the murder, he flees into the mountains, but later returns to give himself up. Raimunda (Jensen), Acacia's mother and Esteban's wife, pleads with Acacia to accept the stepfather whom she hates. During the long embrace which follows between Esteban and Acacia, Raimunda learns of Esteban's love for his stepdaughter and her own love turns to hate. Raimunda calls for help and during Esteban's attempt to escape with Acacia he shoots his wife and is then arrested. Raimunda dies in the arms of Acacia.
Underhill, who had translated the Spanish play into English as The Passion Flower, sued in New York state court after the play was filmed without his permission. On appeal, the opinion by Chief Judge Benjamin N. Cardozo agreed that the contractual transfer of dramatic rights to produce a play did not include films, and that Underhill deserved damages but not all profits from the film. [1] [5]
The Library of Congress has a print of The Passion Flower, [2] though there is a bit of deterioration in the first scene and a "lapse of continuity" near the end of this copy. [6]
Norma Marie Talmadge was an American actress and film producer of the silent era. A major box-office draw for more than a decade, her career reached a peak in the early 1920s, when she ranked among the most popular idols of the American screen.
Constance Alice Talmadge was an American silent film star. She was the sister of actresses Norma and Natalie Talmadge.
Harrison Ford was an American stage and film actor. He was a leading Broadway theater performer and a star of the silent film era.
Natalie Talmadge was an American silent film actress who was the wife of Buster Keaton, and sister of the movie stars Norma and Constance Talmadge. She retired from acting in 1923.
Eulalie Jensen was an American actress on the New York stage and in silent films.
Courtenay Foote was an English stage and silent film actor.
Earl O. Schenck was an American film actor. He appeared in 41 films between 1916 and 1946.
Smilin' Through is a 1922 American silent drama film based on the 1919 play of the same name, written by Jane Cowl and Jane Murfin. The film starred Norma Talmadge, Harrison Ford, and Wyndham Standing. It was co-written and directed by Sidney Franklin, who also directed the more famous 1932 remake at MGM. The film was produced by Talmadge and her husband Joseph M. Schenck for her company, the Norma Talmadge Film Corporation. It was released by First National Pictures. Popular character actor Gene Lockhart made his screen debut in this film.
Smilin' Through is a 1932 American pre-Code MGM romantic drama film based on the 1919 play of the same name written by Jane Cowl and Jane Murfin under the pseudonym of Allan Langdon Martin. It was adapted from the play by James Bernard Fagan, Donald Ogden Stewart, Ernest Vajda and Claudine West. The film was directed by Sidney Franklin and stars Norma Shearer, Fredric March, Leslie Howard and Ralph Forbes.
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Robert Agnew was an American movie actor who worked mostly in the silent film era, making 65 films in both the silent and sound eras. He was born in Dayton, Kentucky.
Kiki is a 1926 American silent romantic comedy film directed by Clarence Brown and starring Norma Talmadge and Ronald Colman. The film is based upon a 1918 play of the same name by André Picard, which was later adapted by David Belasco and performed on Broadway to great success in 1921 by his muse Lenore Ulric.
Ashes of Vengeance is a 1923 American drama film directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Norma Talmadge and Wallace Beery.
The Lady is a 1925 American silent drama film starring Norma Talmadge and directed by Frank Borzage. Talmadge's own production company produced the film with distribution by First National Pictures.
Du Barry, Woman of Passion is a 1930 American pre-Code dramatic film starring Norma Talmadge, produced by her husband Joseph Schenck, released through United Artists, and based on a 1901 stage play Du Barry written and produced by David Belasco and starring Mrs. Leslie Carter.
The Branded Woman is a 1920 American silent drama film released by First National Pictures. It stars Norma Talmadge who also produced the film along with her husband Joseph Schenck through their production company, Norma Talmadge Productions. The film is based on a 1917 Broadway play Branded, by Oliver D. Bailey and was adapted for the screen by Anita Loos and Albert Parker who also directed.
John Garrett Underhill was an American author and stage producer who translated the works of Jacinto Benavente, a Spanish dramatist and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, and a number of other Spanish authors.
La malquerida is a Mexican telenovela created for Televisa by Ximena Suárez and produced by José Alberto Castro, based on the 1913 Spanish play titled The Unloved Woman by Jacinto Benavente. The series originally aired on Canal de las Estrellas from June 2, 2014 to November 9, 2014. It stars Victoria Ruffo, Ariadne Díaz, Christian Meier, África Zavala, and Arturo Peniche introduced in the telenovela in the second part of the history.
The Unloved Woman is a 1940 Spanish drama film directed by José López Rubio. It is based on the 1913 play of the same title by Jacinto Benavente.
A Temperamental Wife is a 1919 silent film adventure drama directed by David Kirkland and starring Constance Talmadge, Wyndham Standing and Ben Hendricks Sr. Based on a stage play entitled Information, Please, written by Jane Cowl and Jane Murfin.