''The Panther Woman'' is a 1918 American drama film directed by

Ralph Ince Ralph Waldo Ince (January 16, 1887 – April 10, 1937) was an American pioneer film actor, director and screenwriter whose career began near the dawn of the silent film era. Ralph Ince was the brother of John E. Ince and Thomas H. Ince. Biogr ...

and starring

Olga Petrova Olga Petrova (born Muriel Harding; 10 May 1884 – 30 November 1977) was a British-American actress, screenwriter and playwright. Life and career Born Muriel Harding in England, she moved to the United States and became a star of vaudeville u ...

. It was written by

Mary Murillo Mary Murillo (born Mary O'Connor; January 22, 1888 – February 4, 1944) was an English actress, screenwriter, and businesswoman active during Hollywood's silent era. Early life Mary was the illegitimate daughter of Sarah Mary Peacock (née Su ...

based upon the 1895 novel ''Patience Sparhawk and Her Times'' by

Gertrude Atherton Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton (October 30, 1857 – June 14, 1948) was an American author. Paterson, Isabel, "Gertrude Atherton: A Personality" The Bookman'', New York, February 1924, (pgs. 632-636) Many of her novels are set in her home sta ...

and released in October 1918 by First National.

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 ...

, Patience Sparhawk (Petrova) is an orphan who has been reared by a dissolute stepmother. An inheritance of good character, however, has kept her from being contaminated and when she gets the opportunity to break away and become the ward of Miss Tremont, a wealthy woman, she does so. Out of gratitude she agrees to marry Tremont's nephew, Beverly Peale (Steele). Soon after the ceremony she discovers that her husband is a user of drugs and her married life is unhappy. It ends abruptly when Beverly is found dead from an overdose of drugs. Patience is accused of murder and put on trial. She is defended by noted criminal lawyer Garon Bourke (Fellowes), who is in love with her and whom Patience loves. Despite Garon's strenuous efforts, his client is convicted and sentenced to die in the

electric chair An electric chair is a device used to execute an individual by electrocution. When used, the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes fastened on the head and leg. This execution method, ...

. The evidence of Honora Maris (Reed), who was enamored of Beverly, was the deciding factor. The day of the scheduled execution arrives and at the eleventh hour Garon obtains a confession from Miss Maris that she committed

perjury Perjury (also known as foreswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an inst ...

on the witness stand. Garon makes a desperate race to the prison with a reprieve and saves Patience just as she was in the electric chair and the executioner was preparing to throw the switch.

Cast

as Patience Sparhawk *

Rockliffe Fellowes Rockliffe St. Patrick Fellowes (17 March 1884 – 28 January 1950),''Who Was Who on Screen'' c.1977 by Evelyn Mack Truitt..Retrieved 22 June 2018 was a Canadian actor born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He starred in films such as ''Regenerati ...

as Garon Bourke *

Vernon Steele Vernon Steele (born Arturo Romeo Antonietti; 18 September 1882 – 23 July 1955) was a Chilean-born British actor known for his appearances on the Broadway stage and in American films. He often played patrician young men in silent films. Steele w ...

as Beverly Peale *

Mathilde Baring Mathilde Baring (born Mathilde Hoffeldt) was an American actress active during Hollywood's silent era. Her daughter was the actress Isabel Lamon. Biography Mathilde was born in New Orleans to Henry Hoffeldt and Mathilde Gessler. She attended T ...

as Mrs. Peale * Gene Burnell as Hal *

Frederick Truesdell Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederick ...

as Beverly's Father *

Tefft Johnson William Tefft Johnson, Jr. (September 23, 1883 – October 15, 1956), better known as Tefft Johnson, was an American stage and film actor, and film director and screenwriter. He appeared in 131 films between 1909 and 1926. Biography Johnson was ...

as Governor of New York *

Violet Reed Violet Reed (born Violet Williams) was an American actress active in Hollywood during the silent era. Biography Reed was born in Chicago, Illinois, to John Williams and Hanna Mattson. Her father appears to have died when she was young. She wa ...

as Honora Maris *James A. Furey as 'Old Foord' (credited as James Furey) * Norma Seifert as Mrs. Sparhawk *Harry Lambart as Latimer Burr (credited as Harry Lambert) *Edwin J. Grant (Undetermined Role)

Preservation status

*This film is now a

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 ...

silent feature.

Reception

Like many American films of the time, ''The Panther Woman'' was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. For example, the Chicago Board of Censors required a cut, in Reel 6, of the testing of the electric chair.

References

External links

* * Atherton, Gertrude,
Patience Sparhawk and Her Times, a Novel
', New York: R. F. Fenno & Co., 1903 edition, on the Internet Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Panther Woman, The 1918 films American silent feature films Films directed by Ralph Ince 1918 drama films American black-and-white films Lost American drama films Silent American drama films Films based on works by Gertrude Atherton 1918 lost films 1910s American films