''Prunella'' is a 1918 American silent

romantic fantasy Romantic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy fiction, describing a fantasy story using many of the elements and conventions of the chivalric romance genre. One of the key features of romantic fantasy involves the focus on relationships, social, ...

film directed by

Maurice Tourneur Maurice may refer to: People *Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr *Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor *Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and Lo ...

. The film is based on the 1906 play ''Prunella, or, Love in a Dutch Garden'' by

Laurence Housman Laurence Housman (; 18 July 1865 – 20 February 1959) was an English playwright, writer and illustrator whose career stretched from the 1890s to the 1950s. He studied art in London. He was a younger brother of the poet A. E. Housman and his s ...

and

Harley Granville-Barker Harley Granville-Barker (25 November 1877 – 31 August 1946) was an English actor, director, playwright, manager, critic, and theorist. After early success as an actor in the plays of George Bernard Shaw, he increasingly turned to directi ...

, and stars

Marguerite Clark Helen Marguerite Clark (February 22, 1883 – September 25, 1940) was an American stage and silent film actress. As a movie actress, at one time, Clark was second only to Mary Pickford in popularity. All but five of her films are considered ...

in the title role. Clark also starred in the 1913

Winthrop Ames Winthrop Ames (November 25, 1870 – November 3, 1937) was an American theatre director and producer, playwright and screenwriter. For three decades at the beginning of the 20th century, Ames was an important force on Broadway, whose repertoire i ...

produced Broadway stage production on which the film is based. The majority of the film is considered

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

, with only fragments still in existence.

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 ...

, Prunella (Clark), who lives in a garden with her three aunts Prim (Berwin), Prude (Harris) and Privacy (Cecil), is carefully guarded from the outside world until the day a troupe of travelling players comes to town. Pierrot (Raucourt), the leader, creeps into the garden and captivates Prunella's heart. She runs off with him and becomes his Pierrette. For two years they wander from country to country. Pierrot tires of his marriage vows and runs away. He finds what a miserable thing life is without her, and he returns to the Dutch gardens and finds her, is forgiven, and they live on, presumably in blissful happiness.

Cast

as Prunella * Isabel Berwin as Prim *

Nora Cecil Nora Cecil (September 26, 1878 – May 1, 1951) was an English-born American actress whose 30-year career spanned both the silent and sound film eras. Career Stage Cecil's career began on the stage, when she debuted in London at age 19 ...

as Privacy * William J. Gross as The Gardener *

Marcia Harris Marcia Harris (born Lena Hill, February 14, 1868 – June 18, 1947) was an American actress. She appeared in 48 films between 1915 and 1932. She was born in Providence, Rhode Island, and as an amateur acted primarily in male lead roles wi ...

as Prude * Charles Hartley as The Gardener * Arthur Kennedy as The Gardener's Boy * Henry Leoni as Scaramel * Jules Raucourt ( Fr) as Pierrot * A. Voorhees Wood as The Gardener

References

External links

* * * Housman, Laurence, Granville-Barker, Harley,
Prunella; or, Love in a Dutch Garden
', New York: Duffield and Company, 1913 edition, on the Internet Archive 1918 films 1918 lost films 1910s romantic fantasy films American romantic fantasy films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Famous Players-Lasky films Films directed by Maurice Tourneur American films based on plays Lost American films 1910s American films {{fantasy-film-stub