| When Men Desire | |
|---|---|
 Ad for film | |
| Directed by | J. Gordon Edwards |
| Written by | J. Searle Dawley (story), Adrian Johnson (scenario) |
| Starring | Theda Bara |
| Cinematography | John W. Boyle |
| Distributed by | Fox Film Corporation |
Release date |
|
Running time | 5 reels (50-60 minutes) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
When Men Desire is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by J. Gordon Edwards and starring Theda Bara. It is presumed to be a lost film. [1]
As described in a film magazine review, [2] after the United States declares war on Germany in 1917, American citizens within Germany like Marie Lohr (Bara), who was visiting her uncle Professor Lohr (Elkas) in Strassburg, hastily attempt to obtain passports and leave the county. However, Major von Rohn (Nye), a powerful officer in the German Army, desires her as a companion, noting that German officers in war time are permitted to have any woman that they fancy. Marie's American aviator sweetheart, Robert Stedman (Ward), has reached Switzerland, and Marie attempts to keep Von Rohn at a respectful distance. She escapes one hazardous situation when Stedman, during a mission, happens to drop a bomb on a house and apparently kills the German officer. Marie is then able to take, from a female German spy who was also in the house and crushed under the wreckage, passports and secret documents that instruct that the spy be taken through the French lines. Impersonating the spy, Marie is able to get to the German border, where she is detained by German soldiers who look to her to relieve their loneliness. Her companion from her journey is able to reach Robert, who then jumps into an airplane to rescue Marie. Marie holds off the soldiers and her identity is safe until von Rohn, recovered from his injuries, shows up at the woman's apartment where Marie is being held and where Robert is hidden in a closet. Marie stabs and kills Voh Rohn, and the two patriots escape after Robert dons the officer's uniform.
At this point in her career, members of the public either wanted to see Bara or, because of a deep seated prejudice resulting from her prior roles portraying a vamp, refused to go to any of her films. [2] To play into the patriotism of the American audience, the film includes prominent displays of the American flag and at one point has Bara bursting into song, singing "The Star-Spangled Banner." [2] Bara disliked the low budget film, objecting to the film's plot given that war films were by 1919 unpopular with audiences and because she was scratched several times while filming a fight scene with Nye, who wore a German helmet topped with a large spiky iron cross. [3]
Although promoted as a "Theda Bara Super-Production," the film did poorly with audiences [4] [5] and the critics, and was not even reviewed in several newspapers and film magazines. [3] The Kansas State Board of Review censored several intertitle cards it determined were too suggestive. [3] [5]
Theda Bara was an American silent film and stage actress. Bara was one of the more popular actresses of the silent era and one of cinema's early sex symbols. Her femme fatale roles earned her the nickname "The Vamp", later fueling the rising popularity in "vamp" roles based in exoticism and sexual domination.
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.
Alice Hollister was an American silent film actress who appeared in around 90 films between 1910 and 1925. She is known for her roles in movies such as From the Manger to the Cross and The Vampire.
A Fool There Was is an American silent drama film produced by William Fox, directed by Frank Powell, and starring Theda Bara. Released in 1915, the film was long considered controversial for such risqué intertitle cards as "Kiss me, my fool!"
Salomé is a 1918 American silent drama film produced by William Fox and starring actress Theda Bara.
Valeska Suratt was an American stage and silent film actress. Over the course of her career, Suratt appeared in 11 silent films, all of which are now lost, mainly due to the 1937 Fox vault fire.
The Stain is a 1914 American silent drama film directed by Frank Powell and starring Edward José and Thurlow Bergen. Its cast also includes Theda Bara in her screen debut, although she is credited under her birth name Theodosia Goodman. The production was shot at Fox Studios in Fort Lee, New Jersey and on location in Lake Ronkonkoma, New York. A print of the film was discovered in Australia in the 1990s and is preserved at the George Eastman House. A 19-second snippet is also available on YouTube.
The Kreutzer Sonata is a lost 1915 American silent romantic drama film directed by Herbert Brenon and costarring Nance O'Neil, Theda Bara, and William E. Shay. The film was based on the 1902 play of the same name by Jacob Gordin, which was based on Leo Tolstoy's 1889 novella. Produced by Fox Film Corporation, it was shot at the company's studio in Fort Lee, New Jersey.
The Devil's Daughter is a lost 1915 American silent drama film directed by Frank Powell and starring Theda Bara. Based on the 1899 play La Gioconda by Italian writer Gabriele D'Annunzio, this updated adaptation portrayed the story of vengeful woman—a "vamp"—who uses her beauty and sensuality to lure a young man to ruin, destroying both his marriage and his career as an artist. The film was produced by Fox Film Corporation and shot at the company's studio in Fort Lee, New Jersey and on location in St. Augustine, Florida.
Sin is a 1915 American silent drama film written and directed by Herbert Brenon and starring Theda Bara. It was produced by Fox Film Corporation and shot at the Fox Studio in Fort Lee, New Jersey. The film is now considered to be lost.
The Tiger Woman is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by J. Gordon Edwards and George Bellamy and starring Theda Bara. The film is now considered lost.
The She-Devil is a 1918 American silent romantic drama film directed by J. Gordon Edwards and starring Theda Bara. This was the last film in which Alan Roscoe starred with Theda Bara; they appeared in six films together starting with Camille.
While New York Sleeps is a 1920 American crime drama film produced by Fox Film Corporation and directed by Charles Brabin, who was the husband of actress Theda Bara. The film tells three distinct episodic stories using the same actors, Estelle Taylor and Marc McDermott. Long thought to be a lost film like many other Fox Film productions from this period, a copy of this movie is now in the collection of the UCLA Film and Television Archive.
A Woman There Was is a 1919 American silent South Seas drama film directed by J. Gordon Edwards and starring Theda Bara. The film is based on the short story "Creation's Tears", by George James Hopkins. Bara portrays Zara, the daughter of a South Seas island tribal chief, who falls in love with a missionary and is killed after helping him escape.
Wife Number Two is a 1917 American silent drama film feature directed and written by William Nigh. The film starred Valeska Suratt, vamp rival to Theda Bara on the Fox lot, and was Suratt's penultimate silent film performance. The film is now considered lost.
The Siren's Song is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by J. Gordon Edwards and starring Theda Bara. It is not known whether the film currently survives, and it may be a lost film.
J. Gordon Edwards (1867–1925) was a Canadian American film director, screenwriter, and producer of the silent era. His oeuvre consists of over fifty feature films made between 1914 and 1924. He is perhaps best known for directing twenty-four films starring vamp actress Theda Bara—including Cleopatra, her most famous role— and also the 1921 epic The Queen of Sheba. Edwards was born in Montreal and educated at a military academy with the expectation that he would pursue a career as a British Army officer. He decided against a life in the military in favor of a future in theater. At the time, the Canadian theater and film industry was limited primarily to repertory theatre, so Edwards became one of many to emigrate to the United States to work in the field. He had a short career as an actor before becoming a stage director. By 1910, he was working for American motion picture producer William Fox, who sent him to Europe to study film production.
John W. Boyle, was an American cinematographer whose career spanned from the silent era through the 1950s. Over his career he would photograph more than 150 films, including features, shorts and documentaries. He would also work on several British films over the course of his career.
The Blue Flame is a four-act play written by George V. Hobart and John Willard, who revised an earlier version by Leta Vance Nicholson. In 1920, producer Albert H. Woods staged the play on Broadway and on tour across the United States. Ruth Gordon, the main character, is a religious young woman who dies and is revived by her scientist fiancé as a soulless femme fatale. She seduces several men and involves them in crimes, including drug use and murder. In the final act, her death and resurrection are revealed to be a dream. The production starred Theda Bara, a popular silent film actress who was known for playing similar roles in movies.
La Belle Russe is a 1919 American silent romantic drama film directed by Charles Brabin and starring Theda Bara, Warburton Gamble, Marian Stewart, Robert Lee Keeling, William B. Davidson, and Alice Wilson. It is based on the 1882 play of the same name by David Belasco, which was previously adapted for the screen in 1914. The film was released by Fox Film Corporation on September 21, 1919.
