''The Dumb Girl of Portici'' is a 1916 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 ...

drama film directed by Phillips Smalley and Lois Weber and starring Anna Pavlova, Rupert Julian and Wadsworth Harris. It was adapted by Weber from the

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

by Germain Delavigne and Eugène Scribe for Daniel Auber's 1828 opera '' La muette de Portici'' (''The Mute of Portici''). The film marked Pavlova's only feature film performance.

Overview

The film was Universal's most expensive film to that date, made at a cost at approximately $300,000. It was also the longest film made by a woman director in the 1910s.

Plot

Fenella ( Anna Pavlova) is a poor Italian girl who falls in love with Duke d'Arcos ( Wadsworth Harris), a Spanish nobleman.

Cast

* Anna Pavlova as Fenella * Rupert Julian as

Masaniello Masaniello (, ; an abbreviation of Tommaso Aniello; 29 June 1620 – 16 July 1647) was an Italian fisherman who became leader of the 1647 revolt against the rule of Habsburg Spain in the Kingdom of Naples. Name and place of birth Until recent ...

* Wadsworth Harris as Duke d'Arcos * Douglas Gerrard as Alphonso * Jack Holt as Conde *

Betty Schade Betty Schade (born Frida Feddersen; March 27, 1895 – March 27, 1982) was a German-born American actress of the silent era. She appeared in about 135 films between 1913 and 1921. Schade was born in Geestemünde (Bremerhaven), Germany and ma ...

as Isabella *

Edna Maison Edna Maison (born Carmen Edna Maisonave; August 17, 1892 – January 11, 1946) was an American silent film actress. Maison was born Carmen Edna Maisonave in San Francisco. Her father was a Frenchman and her mother was American. She was ed ...

as Elvira * Jack Hoxie as Perrone *

William Wolbert William Wolbert (1883–1918) was an American actor and film director of the silent era.Wlaschin p.26 He directed for Vitagraph and Universal Pictures before his career was cut short by his death. Selected filmography Actor * ''The Burned Hand ...

as Pietro * Laura Oakley as Rilla * Nigel De Brulier as Father Francisco * Lina Basquette as Child

Release

The film was released on DVD/Blu-ray in 2018 with a new score by John Sweeney.

References

Bibliography

* Slide, Anthony. ''Early Women Directors''. A. S. Barnes, 1977.

External links

*
The Dumb Girl of Portici at silentera.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dumb Girl Of Portici 1916 films American silent feature films Films directed by Phillips Smalley Films directed by Lois Weber American black-and-white films Universal Pictures films 1910s historical drama films American historical drama films Films set in the 1640s Films set in Naples Films based on operas Films based on works by Eugène Scribe 1916 drama films 1910s English-language films 1910s American films Silent American drama films English-language historical drama films