''Clothes Make the Woman'' is a surviving 1928 American silent

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

romantic drama Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

film directed by

Tom Terriss Thomas Herbert F. Lewin (28 September 1872 – 8 February 1964), known professionally as Tom Terriss, was a British actor, screenwriter, and film director. After trying various occupations, he became an actor playing a variety of roles, beginni ...

, and starring

Eve Southern Eve Southern (born Elva L. McDowell; August 23, 1900 – November 29, 1972) was an American film actress. She appeared in 38 films from 1916 to 1936. In 1930 she was selected by portrait artist Rolf Armstrong as one of the film industry's ...

and

Walter Pidgeon Walter Davis Pidgeon (September 23, 1897 – September 25, 1984) was a Canadian-American actor. He earned two Academy Award for Best Actor nominations for his roles in ''Mrs. Miniver'' (1942) and ''Madame Curie'' (1943). Pidgeon also starred in ...

. The film is loosely based on the story of

Anna Anderson Anna Anderson (born Franziska Schanzkowska, 16 December 1896 – 12 February 1984) was an impostor who claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia. Anastasia, the youngest daughter of the last Tsar and Tsarina of Russia, Nicholas II an ...

, a Polish woman who claimed to be

Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and commu ...

, the daughter of the last czar of Russia

Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...

and his wife

Alexandra Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "prot ...

. Anastasia was killed along with her parents and siblings by

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

revolutionaries on July 17, 1918.

Synopsis

Southern stars as Anastasia, a young Russian princess who is saved from execution by Victor Trent (Pidgeon), a Russian revolutionary. Victor risks his life to help Anastasia flee and the two part ways. Victor later makes his way to Hollywood unaware that Anastasia is also living in the city and attempting to become an actress. By this time, Victor is a popular film actor and producer. Victor sees Anastasia in a crowd of extras and recognizes her as the princess he had previously saved. He promptly casts her in a film about her life and casts himself as her leading man. During a scene reenacting the execution of her family, Victor accidentally shoots Anastasia but she soon recovers. The film ends with the marriage of Anastasia and Victor.

Cast

as Princess Anastasia *

as Victor Trent *

Charles Byer Charles Byer (February 28, 1893 – November 28, 1953) was an American film actor of the silent era.Babington & Barr p. 133 He appeared in films for a variety of companies including Fox, Paramount, Tiffany, and First National Pictures. He played ...

as The Director *

George E. Stone George E. Stone (born Gerschon Lichtenstein; May 18, 1903 – May 26, 1967) was a Polish-born American character actor in films, radio, and television. Life and career Stone was born Gerschon Lichtenstein in Łódź, Congress Poland, into ...

as Assistant Director *

Adolph Milar Adolph Milar (1895–1950) was a Swiss-born film actor. He appeared in character roles in around sixty American films from 1919 to 1945, playing characters of a variety of nationalities.Biskupski p.43 His name is sometimes written as Adolf Milar. ...

as Bolshevik Leader

Preservation status

*Once thought to be a lost film. This title survives in the Cinematheque Royale de Belgique,

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

and the BFI National Film and Television archive

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

.The Library of Congress/FIAF American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog:''Clothes Make the Woman''
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References

External links

* * 1928 films Films directed by Tom Terriss American independent films American romantic drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films set in Los Angeles Films set in Russia Films set in the 1910s Tiffany Pictures films 1920s historical romance films Cultural depictions of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia American historical romance films 1928 romantic drama films 1920s American films Silent romantic drama films Silent American drama films {{historic-film-stub

Synopsis

Cast

Preservation status

See also

References

External links