''The Song of Songs'' 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 ...

produced by

Famous Players-Lasky Famous Players-Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company formed on June 28, 1916, from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company—originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays—and ...

and based on a 1914 stage play version by

Edward Sheldon Edward Brewster Sheldon (Chicago, Illinois, February 4, 1886 – April 1, 1946, New York City) was an American dramatist. His plays include ''Salvation Nell'' (1908) and ''Romance'' (1913), which was made into a motion picture with Greta Garbo. ...

of the 1908 novel by

Hermann Sudermann Hermann Sudermann (30 September 1857 – 21 November 1928) was a German dramatist and novelist. Life Early career Sudermann was born at Matzicken, a village to the east of Heydekrug in the Province of Prussia (now Macikai and Šilutė, i ...

, '' The Song of Songs''. This picture was directed by Joseph Kaufman and stars

Elsie Ferguson Elsie Louise Ferguson (August 19, 1883 – November 15, 1961) was an American stage and film actress. Early life Born in New York City, Elsie Ferguson was the only child of Hiram and Amelia Ferguson. Her father was a successful attorney. Raise ...

. This was Kaufman's last film before his death on February 1, 1918, very early on during the

1918 flu pandemic The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

. This film is now considered a

lost film A lost film is a feature Feature may refer to: Computing * Feature (CAD), could be a hole, pocket, or notch * Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob * Feature (software design) is an intentional distinguishing char ...

. The story was remade as '' Lily of the Dust'' (1924) with

Pola Negri Pola Negri (; born Apolonia Chalupec ; 3 January 1897 – 1 August 1987) was a Polish stage and film actress and singer. She achieved worldwide fame during the silent and golden eras of Hollywood and European film for her tragedienne and femm ...

and

Ben Lyon Ben Lyon (February 6, 1901 – March 22, 1979) was an American film actor and a studio executive at 20th Century-Fox who later acted in British radio, films and TV. Early life and career Lyon was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Alvine ...

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

starred in the first sound version '' The Song of Songs'' (1933).

Plot summary

Lily, an innocent young girl, is convinced to pose nude for a young sculptor. They fall in love, but the sculptor fears the effect of marriage on his work and neglects Lily. Ultimately, in despair, she marries a wealthy older man but does not find happiness there. Only near-tragedy and scandal are able, ironically, to bring her that happiness.

Cast

as Lily Kardos * Frank Losee as Senator Calkins *

Crauford Kent Crauford Kent (12 October 1881 – 14 May 1953) was an English character actor based in the United States. He has also been credited as Craufurd Kent

as Dick Laird *Cecil Fletcher as Stephen Bennett *Gertrude Berkeley as Mrs. Kardos *

Corene Uzzell Corene Uzzell (1889–1938) was an American film actress of the silent era. In 1905, Uzzell acted with the Murray and Mack company. Film studios for which she worked included Essanay, Famous Players, Mirror, and Pathe. Selected filmography * ...

as Ann Merkle (credited as Corinne Usell) *

Charles Wellesley Charles Wellesley (November 17, 1873 – July 24, 1946) was an Irish-born American actor of the silent era. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1913 and 1928. He was born in Dublin and died in Amityville, New York. Partial filmograph ...

as Mrs. Atwell *Henry Leone as Anslem Kardos *Robert Cummings as Phineas Bennett *Ned Burton (unknown role)

Reception

Like many American films of the time, ''The Song of Songs'' was subject to cuts and restrictions by city and state film censorship boards. For example, the Chicago Board of Censors issued the film an Adults Only permit.

References

External links

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Film stillkinotv
{{DEFAULTSORT:Song of Songs, The 1918 films American silent feature films American films based on plays Films based on German novels Films based on works by Edward Sheldon Films based on works by Hermann Sudermann Lost American films Famous Players-Lasky films Films based on adaptations Films directed by Joseph Kaufman American black-and-white films Films based on multiple works Silent American drama films 1918 drama films 1918 lost films Lost drama films 1910s American films 1910s English-language films