A Woman There Was
| A Woman There Was | |
|---|---|
Fox Film Corporation | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 50 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
A Woman There Was is a 1919 American
Plot
As described in a film magazine,[3] Zara (Bara), daughter of tribal chief Majah (Ardizoni), is beloved by Pulke (Elliott), a pearl diver. When New England missionary Winthrop Stark (Davidson) arrives, Zara has no time for Pulke but offers her love to Stark, who refuses her as he expects to wed a girl back home. Pulke, jealous of the missionary, attempts to kill him with a spear but Zara shield him at risk to her life. When a typhoon hits the natives, to appease the gods, decide to offer Stark as a sacrifice, but again Zara saves him by offering herself in his place. She plunges into the ocean but is saved by the missionary before she drowns. As a result of his exertions, Stark lingers near death. Zara steals the sacred black pearl from the tomb of her father, who died during the storm, and with it Stark recovers. The natives stab Zara for taking the pearl, and once more she saves Stark, though dying herself, by returning the black pearl as payment for his safety.
Cast
- Theda Bara - Princess Zara
- William B. Davidson - Rev. Winthrop Stark
- Robert Elliott - Pulke
- Claude Payton - High Priest
- John Ardizoni - Majah
Production
A Woman There Was was filmed in
Reception
Compared to her earlier films, A Woman There Was was a commercial flop.
Preservation status
The studio prints of Bara's films were destroyed along with the rest of Fox's silent films in the 1937 Fox vault fire.[5] With no copies of the film in any private collections or archives, A Woman There Was is now considered to be a lost film.[6]
See also
References
- ^ ISBN 1-56164-155-3.
- ISBN 978-0-7864-6286-5.
- ^ McElravy, Robert C. (June 14, 1919). "Reviews and Advertising Aids: A Woman There Was". Moving Picture World. 40 (11). New York City: Chalmers Publishing Company: 1679. Retrieved 2014-09-19.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7864-6918-5.
- ISBN 1-879511-32-0.
- ^ "A Woman There Was - 1919". silentera.com. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
External links
- A Woman There Was at IMDb
- A Woman There Was at silentera.com
- Theda Bara during shooting of film A Woman There Was in Miami Beach, Florida, at floridamemory.com (photograph)
- A Woman There Was (1919) at silenthollywood.com (several film stills)
