A femme fatale, sometimes called a maneater, Mata Hari, or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype of literature and art. Her ability to enchant, entice and hypnotize her victim with a spell was in the earliest stories seen as verging on supernatural; hence, the femme fatale today is still often described as having a power akin to an enchantress, seductress, witch, having power over men. Femmes fatales are typically villainous, or at least morally ambiguous, and always associated with a sense of mystification, and unease.
Louise Glaum was an American actress. Known for her roles as a vamp in silent era motion picture dramas, she was credited in her early career with giving one of the best characterizations in such parts.
Charles Gardner Sullivan was an American screenwriter and film producer. He was a prolific writer with more than 350 films among his credits. In 1924, the magazine Story World selected him on a list of the ten individuals who had contributed the most to the advancement of the motion picture industry from its inception forward. Four of Sullivan's films, The Italian (1915), Civilization (1916), Hell's Hinges (1916), and All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), have been listed in the National Film Registry.
Sex is a 1920 American silent drama film directed by Fred Niblo, written by C. Gardner Sullivan, produced by J. Parker Read, and starring Louise Glaum. On its surface, the film was a morality story on the evils of marital infidelity. However, the film's producer, J. Parker Read, had made a series of pictures on sex themes. The release of Sex, with its provocative title and explicit scenes of seduction and debauchery, made it the subject of controversy among censors and commentators.
The Aryan is a 1916 American silent Western film starring William S. Hart, Gertrude Claire, Charles K. French, Louise Glaum, and Bessie Love.
The Return of Draw Egan is a 1916 American silent Western film starring William S. Hart, Louise Glaum, Margery Wilson, Robert McKim, and J.P. Lockney.
Sahara is a 1919 American dramatic film written by C. Gardner Sullivan and directed by Arthur Rosson. The film starred Louise Glaum and told a story of love and betrayal in the Egyptian desert.
Raymond B. West was an American motion picture director. He joined the New York Motion Picture Company in 1910 and directed more than 70 motion pictures between 1910 and 1919 before being involved in an equestrian accident on set that resulted in permanent physical and psychological damage, forcing his retirement. He died in 1923 at age 37 from complications arising from his prior accident.
The Toast of Death is a 1915 silent era drama/romance motion picture released by Mutual Film Corporation starring Louise Glaum, Harry Keenan, and Herschel Mayall.
The Lone Wolf's Daughter is a surviving 1919 American silent era crime/drama/thriller motion picture starring Bertram Grassby, Louise Glaum, and Thomas Holding.
The Leopard Woman is a 1920 American silent adventure romance drama film starring Louise Glaum, House Peters, and Noble Johnson. Directed by Wesley Ruggles and produced by J. Parker Read, Jr., the screenplay was adapted by H. Tipton Steck and Stanley C. Morse based on the novel The Leopard Woman (1916) by Stewart Edward White.
Fifty-Fifty is a 1925 American silent drama film starring Hope Hampton, Lionel Barrymore, and Louise Glaum. Directed and produced by Henri Diamant-Berger for the production company Encore Pictures, Fifty-Fifty is a remake of a 1916 Norma Talmadge film also titled Fifty-fifty that was directed by Allan Dwan, who wrote the original story.
The Quakeress is a 1913 silent era short costume drama motion picture starring Louise Glaum, Charles Ray, and William Desmond Taylor.
Somewhere in France is a 1916 silent era war espionage drama motion picture starring Louise Glaum and Howard C. Hickman.
Golden Rule Kate is a 1917 American silent Western film starring Louise Glaum, William Conklin, Jack Richardson, Mildred Harris, and John Gilbert. It was directed by Reginald Barker from a story written by Monte M. Katterjohn and produced and distributed by the Triangle Film Corporation.
Fifty-Fifty is an American silent drama film directed by Allan Dwan whose story was adapted for the screen by Robert Shirley. The Fine Arts Film Company production was made under the aegis of Triangle Film Corporation which released it on October 22, 1916. The leading roles are played by Norma Talmadge, J. W. Johnston, and Marie Chambers. A print of the film is in the George Eastman House Motion Picture Collection.
The Vampire's Ghost is a 1945 American horror film directed by Lesley Selander, written by Leigh Brackett and John K. Butler, and starring John Abbott, Charles Gordon, Peggy Stewart, Grant Withers, Emmett Vogan and Adele Mara. The film was released on May 21, 1945, by Republic Pictures.
The Sphinx is a lost 1916 silent film drama directed by John G. Adolfi and starring Effie Shannon and Herbert Kelcey. It was produced and distributed by Universal Film Manufacturing Company.
The Reward is a 1915 film by Reginald Barker starring Bessie Barriscale, Arthur Maude and Louise Glaum. Barriscale plays a moral chorus girl whom Maude's character attempts to entice to a wild party life for a bet.
The Cup of Life is a 1915 American silent drama starring Bessie Barriscale. It was directed by Thomas Ince and Raymond B. West with a scenario written by C. Gardner Sullivan and Ince.
