''The Leopard Woman'' is a 1920 American silent

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...

romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

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 ...

starring

Louise Glaum Louise Glaum (September 4, 1888 – November 25, 1970) was an American actress. Known for her roles as a vamp in silent era motion picture dramas, she was credited with giving one of the best characterizations of a vamp in her early career ...

House Peters Robert House Peters Sr. (12 March 1880 – 7 December 1967) was a British-born American silent film actor, known to filmgoers of the era as "The Star of a Thousand Emotions". Biography Born in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England, Peters bega ...

, and

Noble Johnson Noble Johnson (April 18, 1881 – January 9, 1978), later known as Mark Noble, was an American actor and film producer. He appeared in films such as '' The Mummy'' (1932), ''The Most Dangerous Game'' (1932), ''King Kong'' (1933) and ''Son of ...

Directed Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

Wesley Ruggles Wesley Ruggles (June 11, 1889 – January 8, 1972) was an American film director. Life and work He was born in Los Angeles, California, younger brother of actor Charlie Ruggles. He began his career in 1915 as an actor, appearing in a do ...

and produced by J. Parker Read, Jr., the screenplay was

adapted In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...

by H. Tipton Steck and Stanley C. Morse based on the novel ''The Leopard Woman'' (1916) by Stewart Edward White.

Synopsis

The story is

set Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...

in Africa. Two rival European governments have sent

secret agent Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

s to the uncivilized kingdom of M'tela. British agent John Culbertson (played by Peters) survives an attempt on his life and leads a safari from Bajuma, on the edge of the desert, to the savage kingdom. An agent of the rival government, Madame (played by Glaum), who is known as the "Leopard Woman," is also leading a safari to M'tela. Her mission is to prevent the Englishman from reaching the kingdom. The two parties meet in the desert. The Leopard Woman's men are exhausted and dehydrated and she is forced to seek Culbertson's help. The Leopard Woman then feigns illness and manages to fulfill her promise to delay Culbertson. Although her government has given her orders to kill him, she falls in love with him. After they make love, he spurns her. She is enraged and orders her servant, Chaké (played by Johnson), to kill him. The attempt fails, however, and the Leopard Woman is relieved. She has decided that she really loves him after all. Culbertson then loses his sight due to overexposure to the sun and his progress is delayed further. The Leopard Woman smashes his bottle of medicine in the hope of forcing him to return to Bajuma. Despite his blindness, Culbertson is determined to complete his mission and goes on to M'tela. With the help of a record player, Culbertson forms an alliance between the primitive tribe and Britain. Choosing love over her duty as a foreign rival, the Leopard Woman sends Chaké to find the British military surgeon. When his sight is restored, Culbertson declares his love for her.

Cast

as Madame, the Leopard Woman *

as John Culbertson *

as Chaké, Madame's servant *Benny Ayers * Nathan Curry *

Alfred Hollingsworth Alfred Hollingsworth was an American actor during the silent film era. He was in dozens of films from 1911 until 1925. According to IMDb he also directed four short films in 1916. '' Hell's Hinges'' has been described as a classic and Hollingswor ...

in an undetermined role (uncredited)

Production

The first

release Release may refer to: * Art release, the public distribution of an artistic production, such as a film, album, or song * Legal release, a legal instrument * News release, a communication directed at the news media * Release (ISUP), a code to iden ...

of Associated Producers, Inc., the movie was filmed at Thomas H. Ince Studios in Culver City. Additional scenes were shot in the desert near

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land ...

. According to news items of the day, the cast included "several hundred Africans, Egyptians and others."''The Leopard Woman''
at allmovie.com

Reviews

A ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

review A review is an evaluation of a publication, product, service, or company or a critical take on current affairs in literature, politics or culture. In addition to a critical evaluation, the review's author may assign the work a rating to indi ...

of Thursday, December 9, 1920, reads:

"The Leopard Woman, romance of intrigue, conquest and mystery, is at the Walker Theater. Louise Glaum appears as the seductive enchantress whose wiles fall short of their mark when love destroys her aim. The photoplay was made from Stewart Edward White's story of the African
veld Veld ( or ), also spelled veldt, is a type of wide open rural landscape in :Southern Africa. Particularly, it is a flat area covered in grass or low scrub, especially in the countries of South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Bot ...
t, and has been given a picturesque setting. Playing opposite the star is House Peters, who gives a delineation of the American scientist-explorer whose duty is stronger than love.""Louise Glaum." ''Los Angeles Times''. Dec. 9, 1920. p. III 17.

References

External links