War Brides | |
---|---|
Directed by | Herbert Brenon |
Written by | Herbert Brenon (scenario) |
Based on | War Brides (play) by Marion Craig Wentworth |
Produced by | Herbert Brenon |
Starring | Alla Nazimova Charles Bryant |
Cinematography | J. Roy Hunt |
Edited by | James MacKaye |
Music by | Robert Hood Bowers |
Distributed by | Selznick Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 72 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
Box office | $300,000 [1] |
War Brides is a lost [2] 1916 American silent war drama film directed by Herbert Brenon and starring Alla Nazimova. The film marked Nazimova's debut in motion pictures. [3] [4]
The film's lost status makes it a sought-after title.[ citation needed ]
The film was based on the eponymous one-act play by the poet, playwright, and suffragist Marion Craig Wentworth (1872-1942). [5] A newlywed soldier is sent to the front and killed. When his young widow learns of his death she considers committing suicide, but decides against it because she is pregnant. The King of her country (unnamed in the original; Germany in the later version) decrees that women must bear more children to fight in future wars. Soon afterwards, as the King is passing through her village, the pregnant widow leads a procession of women to protest the war. Soldiers try to hold her back, but she manages to come face to face with the King, and kills herself in front of him. The title card reads, "If you will not give us women the right to vote for or against war, I shall not bear a child for such a country!" [6]
War Brides was one of the most successful plays of 1915. [7] It opened in January at B.F. Keith's Palace Theatre in New York City, with Alla Nazimova in the lead role, and toured the country for several months. The play was so much in demand that a second production toured the South, with Gilda Varesi in the lead. [8]
In 1916 the play was made into a silent film, also starring Nazimova in her first onscreen role. The film did very well in the United States, bringing the studios a profit of $300,000, and was widely acclaimed by critics. Because of its pacifist message, it was banned in some cities and states. For example, while it had been showing in Maryland, once the United States entered the war the film was banned as its pacifist message might affect military recruitment. [9] In 1917 it was withdrawn from circulation on the grounds that "The philosophy of this picture is so easily misunderstood by unthinking people". Later that year the producer, Lewis Selznick, had the film edited to give it an anti-German slant, and re-released it to American theaters. [6] It was not shown in any other Allied countries. [8]
Salomé is a 1922-23 silent film directed by Charles Bryant and Alla Nazimova, who also stars. It is an adaptation of the 1891 Oscar Wilde play of the same name. The play itself is a loose retelling of the biblical story of King Herod and his execution of John the Baptist at the request of Herod's stepdaughter, Salomé, whom he lusts after.
Olga Petrova was a British-American actress, screenwriter and playwright.
Alla Nazimova was a Russian-American actress, director, producer and screenwriter.
Herbert Brenon was an Irish-born U.S. film director, actor and screenwriter during the era of silent films through 1940.
The Red Lantern is a 1919 American silent drama film starring Alla Nazimova, who plays dual roles, and directed by Albert Capellani. It is notable today for being Anna May Wong's screen debut. A single print survives in Europe with rumors of a copy at Gosfilmofond, Moscow.
Charles Bryant was a British actor and film director.
In the Palace of the King is a 1923 American silent historical romantic drama film based on the novel of the same name by F. Marion Crawford. Directed by Emmett J. Flynn, the film stars Blanche Sweet, Pauline Starke, and Edmund Lowe.
Eye for Eye is 1918 American silent drama film directed by Albert Capellani. It was produced by Richard A. Rowland and Alla Nazimova and distributed by Metro Pictures. Nazimova is also the star in a production scripted by June Mathis. A trailer of the film is currently held in the Library of Congress, and evidence has arisen that a copy may exist in Gosfilmofond in Russia.
Madame Peacock is a 1920 American silent drama film written, produced by, and starring Alla Nazimova in a dual role. Distributed by Metro Pictures, copies of the film exist in several collections including the Cinematheque Royale de Belgique, Brussels.
The Brat is a 1919 American silent drama film produced by and starring Alla Nazimova and directed by Herbert Blache. The film was released by Metro Pictures, who had Nazimova under contract, and is based on Maude Fulton's 1917 Broadway play in which she starred. It was remade as the 1931 film The Brat with Sally O'Neil in the lead role. The film is lost.
A Doll's House is a 1922 American silent drama film produced by and starring Alla Nazimova and directed by her husband Charles Bryant. The couple released the film through United Artists. It is based on the 1879 play A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen with the scenario written by Nazimova under the pseudonym Peter M. Winters. The film was the fourth silent version filmed of the play, being preceded by a 1918 Paramount film directed by Maurice Tourneur. The film is classified as being lost.
The Bride's Play is a 1922 American silent romance film produced by William Randolph Hearst as a starring vehicle for Marion Davies. It was directed by George Terwilliger and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is an extant film that is preserved at the Library of Congress.
The Acquittal is a 1923 American silent mystery film based on the play of the same name by Rita Weiman. The film was directed by Clarence Brown, who would later start a long career at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film stars Norman Kerry, Claire Windsor, Richard Travers, and Barbara Bedford. The film was released by Universal Pictures.
Billions is a lost 1920 American silent comedy film produced by and starring Alla Nazimova and distributed by Metro Pictures. Ray Smallwood directed. It is based on a French play, L'Homme riche, by Jean Jose Frappa and Henry Dupuy-Mazuel.
Revelation is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by George D. Baker and starring Alla Nazimova. The film was produced and distributed through Metro Pictures.
My Son is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Edwin Carewe and starring Alla Nazimova. Carewe produced with First National who distributed the film.
Marion Craig Wentworth (1872–1942) was an American playwright, poet, and suffragist. She is best known for her feminist anti-war play, War Brides, which was made into a silent film starring Alla Nazimova in 1916.
The Heart of a Child is a lost 1920 silent film drama directed by Ray Smallwood with Alla Nazimova as star. It was scripted by Charles Bryant, Nazimova's husband and co-star. Metro Pictures distributed.
The Kiss Barrier is a lost 1925 American silent drama film directed by Roy William Neill and written by Eugenie Magnus Ingleton. The film stars Edmund Lowe, Claire Adams, Diana Miller, Marion Harlan, Thomas R. Mills, and Charles Clary. The film was released on May 31, 1925, by Fox Film Corporation.
The Marriage Whirl is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Alfred Santell and written by Bradley King. It is based on the 1922 play The National Anthem by J. Hartley Manners. The film stars Corinne Griffith, Kenneth Harlan, Harrison Ford, E. J. Ratcliffe, Charles Willis Lane, Edgar Norton, and Nita Naldi. The film was released on July 19, 1925, by First National Pictures.