''The Forbidden Path'' is a 1918 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
J. Gordon Edwards
James Gordon Edwards (June 24, 1867 – December 31, 1925) was a Canadian-born film director, producer, and writer who began his career as a stage (theatre), stage actor and stage director.
Biography
James Gordon Edwards was born in Montreal ...
and starring
Theda Bara
Theda Bara ( ; born Theodosia Burr Goodman; July 29, 1885 – April 7, 1955) was an American silent film and stage actress.
Bara was one of the more popular actresses of the silent era and one of cinema's early sex symbols. Her femme fatal ...
. The film is now 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 ...
.
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 ...
, while posing for Felix Benavente (Mason) for a painting for a church, Mary Lynde (Bara), a true Madonna type unaware of the wiles of men, meets Robert Sinclair (Thompson) and, believing him sincere, accepts his attentions. Her father (Law) casts her from his home, and Mary goes to live at Sinclair's mountain lodge. However, Sinclair betrays her and deserts her. The death of her child takes the last bit of ambition from her and she sinks to the lowest depths. Felix, in search of a model to represent the end of the path of sin, rescues her. The appearance of Sinclair and his fiancee Barbara Reynolds (Martin) at the studio brings a desire for revenge to Mary, and she forces Sinclair to establish her in an apartment and supply her with money. To do this, Sinclair is forced to steal, and with this evidence Mary makes Sinclair promise to marry her. Sinclair tries to kill her, but on the morning of the wedding Mary goes to the church and confesses everything. Sinclair leaves in disgrace while Felix goes to comfort Mary.
Cast
*
Theda Bara
Theda Bara ( ; born Theodosia Burr Goodman; July 29, 1885 – April 7, 1955) was an American silent film and stage actress.
Bara was one of the more popular actresses of the silent era and one of cinema's early sex symbols. Her femme fatal ...
as Mary Lynde
* Hugh Thompson as Robert Sinclair
*
Sidney Mason
Sidney Mason (1886–1923) was an American film actor active during the silent era.Langman p.291 He was the father of the actor Sydney Mason.
Selected filmography
* '' His Neighbor's Wife'' (1913)
* ''The Daughter of MacGregor'' (1916)
* ''The H ...
as Felix Benavente
*
Walter Law as Mr. Lynde
* Florence Martin as Barbara Reynolds
* Wynne Hope Allen as Mrs. Lynde
*
Alphonse Ethier
Alphonse Ethier (December 10, 1874 – January 4, 1943) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 70 films between 1910 and 1939. His first name was sometimes spelled Alphonz.
Ethier acted on stage before he began making films wi ...
as William Sinclair
* Lisle Leigh as Mrs. Byrne
* Reba Porter as Tessie Byrne
Reception
Like many American films of the time, ''The Forbidden Path'' was subject to cuts by
city and state film censorship boards. For example, the Chicago Board of Censors issued the film an Adults Only permit and required cuts, in Reel 4, of all interior views of the
house of ill fame
''House of Ill Fame'' is the first full-length album by Canadian hard rock band The Trews. It was released in 2003 by the label Epic Records. The group issued a music video for the more-alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a ...
showing inmates (leave in scene where three young women rush out to aid Mary and last scene in house where woman shows Mary the dead baby) to include all views of statuary in background, Reel 5, young woman soliciting man, closeup of alleged sex pervert knitting in foreground, all but one view of men of same character being ejected from resort to conform with National Board eliminations, and, Reel 6, a shooting scene.
See also
*
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 ...
*
1937 Fox vault fire
The 1937 Fox vault fire was a major fire that broke out in a 20th Century-Fox film-storage facility in Little Ferry, New Jersey, United States, on July 9, 1937. Flammable nitrate film had previously contributed to several fires in film-industr ...
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forbidden Path, The
1918 films
1918 drama films
1918 lost films
Silent American drama films
American silent feature films
American black-and-white films
Films based on short fiction
Films directed by J. Gordon Edwards
Fox Film films
Lost American films
Lost drama films
1910s American films