''The Isle of Love'' is a 1922 recut of a 1920 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 ...

''Over the Rhine'' aka ''An Adventuress'' starring female impersonator

Julian Eltinge Julian Eltinge (May 14, 1881 – March 7, 1941), born William Julian Dalton, was an American stage and film actor and female impersonator. After appearing in the Boston Cadets Revue at the age of ten in feminine garb, Eltinge garnered notic ...

. The film also contained two actors unknown during filming:

Virginia Rappe Virginia Caroline Rappe (; July 7, 1891 – September 9, 1921) was an American model and silent film actress. Working mostly in bit parts, Rappe died after attending a party with actor Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, who was accused of manslaughter a ...

and

Rudolph Valentino Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguolla (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926), known professionally as Rudolph Valentino and nicknamed The Latin Lover, was an Italian actor based in the United States who starred ...

. The film went through various recuts and re-releases during the 1920s and is generally known for its cast.Progressive Silent Film List: ''An Adventuress''
at silentera.com

Plot

An island ("The Isle of Love"), run by a power-mad duke, is in turmoil. The peasants plan a revolt, with two buddies, including Cliff (Julian Eltinge), planning to overthrow the corrupt Duke. Cliff invites his friend Jacques (Rudolph Valentino) to help, though Jacques spends most of his time with his love Vanette (Virginia Rappe). Meanwhile, Cliff dresses up as a female as part of the plan and after much chaos all is well and he returns to America safe and sound.

Cast

as Clifford Townsend / Julie *

as Vanette *

as Jacques Rudanyi (billed as "R. De Valentina" and later as "Rodolph Valentino") *

Frederick Ko Vert Frederick Kovert (sometimes written Ko Vert or KoVert) was an American female impersonator. Kovert appeared in drag in a number of comic roles in silent films of the 1920s. His first film role was in the 1920 film '' An Adventuress'', alongside Ju ...

as Lyn Brook * William Clifford as Dick Sayre *

Leo White Leo White (November 10, 1882 – September 20, 1948), Leo Weiss, was a German-born British-American film and stage actor who appeared as a character actor in many Charlie Chaplin films. Biography Born in Germany, White grew up in England where ...

as Prince Halbere * Stanton Beck as Grand Duke Nebo * Charles Millfield as "Pom Pom"

Release and different versions

The original film was titled ''Over the Rhine'' and was an anti German propaganda piece starring Julian Eltinge, a

transvestite Transvestism is the practice of dressing in a manner traditionally associated with the opposite sex. In some cultures, transvestism is practiced for religious, traditional, or ceremonial reasons. The term is considered outdated in Western c ...

actor, who was extremely popular at the time. Filmed in 1918 ''Over the Rhine'', it was shelved without release as

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

ended before it could go into distribution. Two years later the film was recut and titled ''An Adventuress''. How it was recut is unknown, however, the film was not well received. In 1922, after Valentino rose to fame with '' The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse'', and Virginia Rappe had died in what became a scandal, the film was released once again under the title ''The Isle of Love''. ''The Isle of Love'' featured a poorly spliced-together story, which mostly intended to cash in on Valentino's newfound fame despite his original role being quite small, and also on the fallout from Rappe's death. This led to shots of him being repeated several times nonsensically; and including his character for no apparent reason. ''The Isle of Love'' cut is the only version of the film still in existence, and bears little resemblance to the original ''Over the Rhine'' storyline. The final cut was a commercial failure much like ''An Adventuress''. ''The Isle of Love'' has yet to be released on DVD or home video, but a complete print of that version survives at the

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Also a nonprofit exhibition venue, the archiv ...

References

External links

* *
''The Isle of Love'' at the Julian Eltinge Project
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Isle of Love, The 1922 films 1922 drama films Silent American drama films American LGBT-related films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Cross-dressing in American films Films directed by Fred J. Balshofer 1920s LGBT-related films 1910s American films 1920s American films

Plot

Cast

Release and different versions

See also

References

External links