Masterpiece Selection Resonating with the Themes of A Woman There Was: Cult Guide

Dir: J. Gordon Edwards

Mary Doone (Theda Bara) lives in a tenement parish house run by Pastor Elliott Clifford (A. H. Van Buren). Mary joints the front as a nurse, and meets war correspondent Lloyd Stanley (Stuart Holmes), whom she had known from London. Stanley is about to take advantage of her when their hospital tent is bombed. Mary finds the body of a young girl in the tent. The young girl is Ethel Wardley (Madeleine Lee Nard), who is the niece of Lady Clifford (Lucia Moore), mother of Elliott Clifford. Mary assumes Ethel's identity and is received by Lady Clifford as her niece. Elliott falls in love with Mary. Stanley returns to London with Ethel, who has recovered from her wounds. Mary confesses what she has done, and despite Lady Clifford's pleas for her to stay, she returns to the parish house to work with children.

Dir: J. Gordon Edwards

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of The She Devil perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Lolette (Theda Bara), an exotic and spirited peasant girl lives In the small Spanish village of Juanguera. Although ardently courted by the native swains, and particularly a bandit called The Tiger, Lolette prefers Maurice Tabor, a French artist who has come to Juanguera to paint. Because he refuses to take her to Paris, Lolette accepts a gift of stolen jewels from The Tiger and follows Maurice to France. With Lolette as his model, Maurice paints brilliantly, and soon she becomes a Paris sensation. One evening, Lolette performs a Spanish dance on stage, and the next day, she signs contracts with a number of impresarios, accepting advance payment from all of them. Fearing her arrest, Maurice urges her to accompany him back to Spain, but The Tiger attacks their coach and imprisons them. At a feast held in her honor, however, Lolette urges The Tiger to drink, and when he is unconscious, she and Maurice escape.

Dir: J. Gordon Edwards

After the death of Princess Arbassoff, Lisza Tapenko, a governess in the household of Prince Arbassoff, fills her place in everything but name. When the prince refuses to marry her because of the difference in their social positions, Lisza's former lover, Vassya, urges her to join the cause of the revolution. Smarting under the prince's refusal, she does so and leaves for Switzerland, the headquarters of the revolutionaries. The prince eventually yields to his son's pleas for Lisza's return and agrees to make her his wife. As Princess Arbassoff, Lisza still continues her activities with the revolutionaries, assassinating government officials and leaving a red rose on each of her victims. Torn between her love for the prince and her love of Russia when the revolutionaries order her to slay her husband, Lisza's devotion to the cause triumphs and she dynamites her house, meeting her death along with the prince's.

Dir: J. Gordon Edwards

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of The Rose of Blood perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Du Barry attracts the attention of the King of France as he rides through the streets. A meeting follows, she losing her garter and the King his heart. Installed at court, Du Barry holds the King's favor in spite of her love for a soldier. The King dies and Du Barry plans to wed her soldier sweetheart, but she falls a victim of the Revolution.

Dir: J. Gordon Edwards

After a love triangle results death, St. Elmo falls from grace and is eventually redeemed in this now lost silent film based on the best selling novel by Augusta Jane Wilson.

Dir: J. Gordon Edwards

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Madame Du Barry perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Maria Valverde, a young Spanish woman whose father has settled in the Philippines, arrives home from the convent where she received her education and is soon approached by Diablo Ramirez, a local plantation overseer who hopes to win her heart. Having met the handsome American army captain, Paul Winter, in Manila, Maria scorns Diablo's advances, and later, he is forcefully escorted from the house. Furious, Diablo organizes a group of rebels, who kill Maria's father and hold her a prisoner in her own home. When Captain Winter hears of the revolt, he rushes to Maria's aid but is himself captured. Reinforcements soon arrive from the American army post, and in the fighting, the house is set ablaze. Diablo is about to grab Maria when Captain Winter enters and shoots the rebel down. The Americans finally emerge victorious, and Maria wins her dashing captain.

Dir: J. Gordon Edwards

Bara is unusually cast as a nearly virginal nurse and actress. She does manage to get one man to blow his brains out before she reforms and marries an Episcopal priest.

Dir: J. Gordon Edwards

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of St. Elmo perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

The story tells of the maneuvering, the machinations and the subtle intrigue of Lady Dolly, Vere Herbert's mother, who is anxious to make an advantageous marriage for her daughter. In doing so she eventually schemes away her child's happiness by marrying her to Prince Zuroff. Some time before she was introduced to the Prince, Vere met and fell in love with Lucien Correze, an opera singer, who became attracted to her. Told by her mother that she must sever her friendship with the singer and marry the Russian Prince, Vere heartbroken, leaves Correze, and her wedding to the Prince is a social event. Soon after her marriage Vere discovers that the Prince is harboring his mistress, Duchess De Sonnaz, under the same roof. A scene follows, after which the Prince banishes his wife, together with her faithful German nurse, to a Russian monastery. Shortly after her incarceration she is followed to the retreat by Correze and Lord Jura, the latter a friend of her mother's. Correze entreats Vere to leave the place and go with him. She is about to succumb to his impassioned plea when the Prince enters the room. Words are followed by a duel in which the Prince and Lord Jura are both killed. The Princess, free, marries Correze.

Dir: J. Gordon Edwards

After squandering his entire estate, Roy Schuyler is forced by his creditors to marry wealthy Laura Reid. Her half-sister Ann tries to warn her of Roy's motives, but is kidnapped by Roy and incarcerated in an asylum before she can. Roy then tries to force Laura to sign a document which would accord him control of her estate. When she refuses, Roy, with the aid of Dassori, a traitor from Italy, brings Ann and Laura together. Ann dies and Laura, who closely resembles her, is placed in the asylum in her stead. Laura is finally saved when her cousin Marion bribes a nurse to allow her to escape and Dassori, with moments to live, confesses his part in the crime, thus establishing Laura's true identity. Justice is then served when Roy is driven to his death by his tortured conscience.

Dir: J. Gordon Edwards

Shakespeare's classic tale of ill-fated lovers whose deaths bring peace to their warring families.