''A Doll's House'' is a 1917 American silent

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

based on the eponymous 1879 play by

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

(original title: ''Et dukkehjem''/ ''A Doll House''). The film was written and directed by

Joe De Grasse Joseph Louis De Grasse (May 4, 1873 – May 25, 1940) was a Canadians, Canadian film director. Born in Bathurst, New Brunswick, he was the elder brother of actor Sam De Grasse. Biography Joseph De Grasse had studied and was a first-class grad ...

, and stars

Lon Chaney Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and affli ...

William Stowell William Stowell (March 13, 1885 – November 24, 1919) was an American silent film actor. A handsome actor with matinee idol good looks, Stowell was signed into film in 1909 with IMP (forerunner of Universal Studios), and debuted by sta ...

and

Dorothy Phillips Dorothy Phillips (born Dorothy Gwendolyn Strible, October 30, 1889 – March 1, 1980) was an American stage and film actress. She is known for her emotional performances in melodramas, having played a number of "brow beaten" women on screen, bu ...

. Film historian Jon C. Mirsalis stated that director De Grasse's wife

Ida May Park Ida May Park (December 28, 1879 – June 13, 1954) was an American screenwriter and film director of the silent era, in the early 20th century. She wrote for more than 50 films between 1914 and 1930, and directed 14 films between 1917 and 192 ...

wrote the screenplay, but most sources attribute both the writing and directing of the film to De Grasse himself. The film is today considered lost. The film did not do well with the critics, who called it stagy and disappointing. Chaney's performance as the blackmailing Krogstad was singled out as brilliant, however. A still exists showing Chaney in the role of Krogstad. Two other silent film versions of the Ibsen play were produced, released in 1911 and 1918 respectively.

Plot

Nora Helmer (Dorothy Phillips) has years earlier committed a forgery in order to save the life of her authoritarian husband Torvald Helmer (William Stowell), a well-to-do bank manager. Her husband had become very ill, and the only thing that could save him was an operation in Italy. Unbeknownst to Torvald, Nora forged a check from her father's checkbook in order to get the money to send him there, aided and abetted by a crooked moneylender named Nils Krogstad (Lon Chaney) who worked as a clerk in her husband's bank. Now she is being blackmailed by Krogstad, and lives in fear of her husband's finding out what she did, and of the shame such a revelation would bring to his career. Soon after, her husband catches Krogstad embezzling bank funds and fires him. Krogstad threatens to expose Nora if she does not help him to get his job back, but Nora persuades her husband to give Korgstad's job to a needy widow named Christina Linde instead. In retaliation, the moneylender tells Nora's husband everything. Even though Nora committed the forgery to save her husband from death, he still becomes enraged and cannot find it in himself to forgive her. He lectures her mercilessly until, in the end, Nora winds up leaving him in hopes of finding a better life elsewhere.

Cast

as Nora Helmer *

as Torvald Helmer *

as Nils Krogstad *

Sydney Deane Sydney Leslie Deane (1 March 1863 – 20 March 1934) was a first-class cricketer and entertainer, and the first Australian to appear in a Hollywood movie. Biography In Australia Born in Balmain, Sydney, to Edward and Sophia, Deane was a prom ...

as Dr. Rank * Helen Wright as Anna * Myriam Shelby as Christina Linden

Reception

"As a means of popular entertainment it is doubtful that the screen version of A DOLL'S HOUSE...will become much of a success. The absence of the theatrical in the Ibsen method and the difficulty of conveying the fine shades of meaning in the dialogue without the aid of speech render the task of the actors in the cast doubly hard...The Helmer of William Stowell, the Krogstad of Lon Chaney, the Dr. Rank of Sydney Deane, the Christina of Miriam Shelby and the Anna of Helen Wright are all worthy of praise." --- Moving Picture World "Bluebird's production of Henrik Ibsen's play ''A Doll's House'' turns out to be a dramatically fine piece of work in every respect...(It) is more likely to win new audiences than to swell the old ones." --- Motion Picture NewsBlake, Michael F. (1998). "The Films of Lon Chaney". Vestal Press Inc. Page 73. .

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Doll's House (1917 film), A 1917 films 1917 drama films Silent American drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films based on A Doll's House Films directed by Joseph De Grasse Universal Pictures films 1910s American films