''Cytherea'' is a 1924 American
silent romantic drama film
Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typica ...
directed by
George Fitzmaurice
George Fitzmaurice (13 February 1885 – 13 June 1940) was a French-born film director and producer.
Career
Fitzmaurice's career first started as a set designer on stage. Beginning in 1914, and continuing until his death in 1940, he directed ...
and starring
Alma Rubens
Alma Rubens (born Alma Genevieve Reubens; February 19, 1897 – January 21, 1931) was an American film actress and stage performer.
Rubens began her career in the mid 1910s. She quickly rose to stardom in 1916 after appearing opposite Douglas F ...
,
Lewis Stone
Lewis Shepard Stone (November 15, 1879 – September 12, 1953) was an American film actor. He spent 29 years as a contract player at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and was best known for his portrayal of Judge James Hardy in the studio's popular '' Andy ...
,
Constance Bennett
Constance Campbell Bennett (October 22, 1904 – July 24, 1965) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress and producer. She was a major Hollywood star during the 1920s and 1930s; during the early 1930s, she was the highest-paid ...
, and
Norman Kerry
Norman Kerry (born Norman Hussey Kaiser,"United States World War II Draft Registration Cards,registration for Norman Hussey Kaiser, Los Angeles, California, April 27, 1942 This document lists his full name as Norman Hussey Kaiser, noting the na ...
. Based on the novel ''Cytherea, Goddess of Love'', by
Joseph Hergesheimer
Joseph Hergesheimer (February 15, 1880 – April 25, 1954) was an American writer of the early 20th century known for his naturalistic novels of decadent life amongst the very wealthy.
Early life
Hergesheimer was born on February 15, 1880 Phil ...
and was adapted for the screen by
Frances Marion
Frances Marion (born Marion Benson Owens, November 18, 1888 – May 12, 1973) was an American screenwriter, director, journalist and author often cited as one of the most renowned female screenwriters of the 20th century alongside June Mathis a ...
. ''Cytherea'' features
two dream sequences filmed in an early version of the
Technicolor
Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades.
Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...
color film process.
[Progressive Silent Film List: ''Cytherea'']
at silentera.com The film is also known as ''The Forbidden Way''.
Plot
As described in a film magazine review,
[ ] Lee Randon, forty years old and bored, sees his nephew Morris becoming infatuated with Mina Raff and reproaches him. Later, when Morris leaves his wife to go with Mina, contented housewife Fanny Randon, who has no patience with modern ideas like dancing or jazz entertainment, asks her husband to plead with the young woman to release his nephew so he can return to his wife. In carrying out the mission, Randon in turn becomes infatuated with Savina Grove, a married woman of deep passion which has been untouched until she meets Randon. Randon and Savina elope and go to Cuba. Ostracized by his infraction of society's laws, Randon is denied admittance to the home of his brother. Savina is taken ill and dies. Randon returns to his home, where he is welcomed back by his wife.
Cast
Production
The film was produced by
Samuel Goldwyn Productions
Samuel Goldwyn Productions was an American film production company founded by Samuel Goldwyn in 1923, and active through 1959. Personally controlled by Goldwyn and focused on production rather than distribution, the company developed into the m ...
and released by
Associated First National Pictures. ''Cytherea'' was the first Technicolor film made under
artificial light
Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing dayligh ...
, while previous Technicolor films were made outdoors under
natural light
Natural Light, sometimes Natty Light, is an American reduced-calorie light lager brewed by Anheuser-Busch since its introduction on July 31, 1977. Its ingredients are listed as water, barley malt, cereal grains, yeast, and hops. One serving cont ...
.
Preservation
With no copies of ''Cytherea'' found in any film archives,
The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: Cytherea''
/ref> it is a lost film
A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress.
Conditions
During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy o ...
.
See also
*List of early color feature films
This is a list of early feature-length color films (including primarily black-and-white films that have one or more color sequences) made up to about 1936, when the Technicolor three-strip process firmly established itself as the major-studio fa ...
*List of lost films
For this list of lost films, a lost film is defined as one of which no part of a print is known to have survived. For films in which any portion of the footage remains (including trailers), see List of incomplete or partially lost films.
Reas ...
References
External links
*
*
Stills
at silenthollywood.com
1924 films
1924 romantic drama films
1920s color films
American romantic drama films
American silent feature films
Films based on American novels
Films directed by George Fitzmaurice
Films shot in Los Angeles
Films shot in New York City
First National Pictures films
Samuel Goldwyn Productions films
Silent films in color
Lost American films
Films with screenplays by Frances Marion
1920s American films
Silent romantic drama films
Silent American drama films
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