''Fascination'' is a 1922 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 ...

directed by

Robert Z. Leonard Robert Zigler Leonard (October 7, 1889 – August 27, 1968) was an American film director, actor, producer, and screenwriter. Biography He was born in Chicago, Illinois. At one time, he was married to silent star Mae Murray with the two formin ...

and starring his then wife

Mae Murray Mae Murray (born Marie Adrienne Koenig; May 10, 1885 – March 23, 1965) was an American actress, dancer, film producer, and screenwriter. Murray rose to fame during the silent film era and was known as "The Girl with the Bee-Stung Lips" and "Th ...

. The film is based on an original story by

Edmund Goulding Edmund Goulding (20 March 1891 – 24 December 1959) was a British screenwriter and film director. As an actor early in his career he was one of the 'Ghosts' in the 1922 silent film ''Three Live Ghosts'' alongside Norman Kerry and Cyril Chadwick. ...

who was soon to be a prolific film director. The story capitalizes on Murray's continuing forays into outlandish costume dramas. It is not known whether the film currently survives, suggesting that 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 ...

.The Library of Congress..Silent Feature Film Survival Database:''Fascination''
/ref>

Plot

As described in a

film magazine Film periodicals combine discussion of individual films, genres and directors with in-depth considerations of the medium and the conditions of its production and reception. Their articles contrast with film reviewing in newspapers and magazines whi ...

, Dolores de Lisa (Murray), born of a Spanish father and American mother, combines the warm blood of the South with Yankee pep. To hold her in restraint, her aunt Marquesa (Fitzroy) takes her to

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. Dolores slips away from home on

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

day when the streets are filled with crowds going to the bullfight where, after obtaining a wig and costume, she occupies a box. She becomes fascinated with the toreador Carrita (Frazer), and the Count de Morera (Foote) offers to introduce her if she will agree to attend his ball. At the ball Dolores dances for the guests, and then joins a party at a cabaret where she meets the great Carrita. Her family meanwhile is searching the city for her, her father Eduardo de Lisa (Lane), her brother Carlos (Hale), and her sweetheart Ralph Kellogg (Coleman), having just arrived from the United States. Her father enters the cabaret and Parola (Ware), a faded cabaret singer, recognizes him and invites him to her room. Dolores follows them and hears Parola accuse Carlos of being the father of her son. As Carlos turns and starts down the stairs, Parola attempts to kill him with a heavy lamp but Dolores grabs it. Parola then turns on the daughter, but she is saved by the toreador. Parola tells Carrita that Carlos is his father and urges him to avenge her. Carrita leaves and before he can carry out his purpose, Parola admits that she lied and was only attempting to blackmail Carlos, which saves him from death at the hands of the toreador. Dolores arrives home bedraggled and completely cured of her desire for excitement, bullfights, and underworld cabarets. She happily sinks into her American sweetheart's arms.

Cast

as Dolores de Lisa *

Creighton Hale Creighton Hale (born Patrick Fitzgerald; May 24, 1882 – August 9, 1965) was an Irish-American theatre, film, and television actor whose career extended more than a half-century, from the early 1900s to the end of the 1950s. Career Born in Cou ...

as Carlos de Lisa * Charles Lane as Eduardo de Lisa *

Emily Fitzroy Emily Fitzroy (24 May 1860 – 3 March 1954) was an English theatre and film actress who eventually became an American citizen. She was at one time a leading lady in London for Sir Charles Wyndham. She made her film debut in 1915. Her debut i ...

as Marquesa de Lisa * Robert Frazer as Carrita *

Vincent Coleman Vincent Coleman (February 16, 1900 – October 26, 1971) was an American stage and film actor of the silent film era of the late 1910s and early 1920s. Biography Born in Louisiana, Coleman began his acting career while still a young boy; tourin ...

as Ralph Kellogg *

Courtenay Foote Courtenay Foote (22 November 1878 – 4 May 1925) was an English stage and silent film actor. Born in Yorkshire, England, Foote attended Oxford, studied engineering in Germany, and worked as a civil engineer in Scotland. Friends who heard ...

as Count de Morera *

Helen Ware Helen Ware ( Remer; October 15, 1877 – January 25, 1939) was an American stage and film actress. Early years Born to John August Remer and Elinor Maria (née Ware), Ware adopted her mother's maiden name as her professional name. She had ...

as Parola *

Frank Puglia Francesco Giuseppe "Frank" Puglia (9 March 1892 – 25 October 1975) was an Italian-American film actor. He had small, but memorable roles in films including ''Casablanca'' (a Moroccan rug merchant), ''Now, Voyager'' and ''The Jungle Book''. ...

as Nema

References

External links

* *
Stills
at silenthollywood.com 1922 films 1922 drama films Silent American drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films directed by Robert Z. Leonard Tiffany Pictures films Metro Pictures films 1920s American films {{1920s-silent-drama-film-stub