''The Wolf Woman'' is a 1916 silent era

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

motion picture 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 ...

Howard C. Hickman Howard Charles Hickman (February 9, 1880 – December 31, 1949) was an American actor, director and writer. He was an accomplished stage leading man, who entered films through the auspices of producer Thomas H. Ince. Career In 1900, Hickman d ...

, and Charles Ray. It was

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 ...

Raymond B. West Raymond B. West (February 11, 1886 – September 11, 1923) was an American motion picture director. He joined the New York Motion Picture Company in 1910 and directed more than 70 motion pictures between 1910 and 1919 before being involved in an ...

and produced by

Thomas H. Ince Thomas Harper Ince (November 16, 1880 – November 19, 1924) was an American silent film - era filmmaker and media proprietor. Ince was known as the "Father of the Western" and was responsible for making over 800 films. He revolutionized the mo ...

, the screenplay was written by C. Gardner Sullivan.

Plot

Leila Aradella (played by Glaum), a young and egotistical woman, finds pleasure from preying on weak men with her charm and beauty. John Morton (played by Hickman), a brilliant lawyer, is ruined both morally and financially by her. Rex Walden (played by Ray), the big-hearted son of a society matron, Mrs. Walden (played by Claire), then falls for Leila and proposes marriage. The family and friends of Rex, who has become her complete slave, protest his decision, believing that Leila is trouble. Mrs. Walden sends his older brother, Franklin Walden (played by Standing), to attempt to stop Leila from playing with Rex's affections. Franklin, however, falls in love with her himself. When Rex learns that Leila has left him for his brother, he is driven to commit suicide by her callous behavior. Mrs. Walden, now desperate, enlists Adele Harley (played by Temple), a girl of strong moral character, to win Franklin's affections away from Leila. Franklin is gradually drawn away from Leila and Adele's victory causes Leila to lose her confidence. In a drunken and angry state, Leila falls through a massive mirror and her face is cut by a shard of glass. After "marring the beauty of her face so utterly that her power to charm men is forever lost," the permanently disfigured Leila ends up a broken and lonely woman.

Cast

as Leila Aradella *

as John Morton * Charles Ray as Rex Walden *

Wyndham Standing Charles Wyndham Standing''Silent Film Necrology'', 2nd Edition by Eugene Michael Vazzana, c. 2001 page 497 (23 August 1880 – 1 February 1963) was an English film actor. Early years Standing was born in London, England and died in Los An ...

as Franklin Walden *

Gertrude Claire Gertrude Claire (July 16, 1852 – April 28, 1928) was an actress of the American stage and Hollywood silent motion pictures. Biography Claire was born in Chicago, Illinois, and began appearing onstage at the age of 16. She played minor roles ...

as Mrs. Walden * Marjory Temple as Adele Harley

Production

The film attracted attention for the special effect of Glaum's character falling headlong through a large mirror. One newspaper reported on the effect as follows: "The effect is declared to be among the most sensational ever filmed, and for that reason the director and his camera man refuse to divulge their secret. So far, in fact, is it removed from ordinary photographic trickery that it bewildered the studio folk when they saw it in the projecting room." Newspaper advertisements for the film called Leila "a modern siren," a woman who "regards men as her rightful prey." The studio's advertising also touted C. Gardner Sullivan's script for its "daring disregard for the artificialities of conventional dramatic construction," noting that he "has no mercy on the 'Wolf Woman' and crowns her career of self glorification and malicious destruction with ruin and disfigurement." Sullivan said that he intended Glaum's character to be "a living proof of the triumph of the flesh, in whose creed the lure of the physical was placed above moral, spiritual or mental worth, and in whose incense-laden apartments the idol of sensuality replaced the crucifix or family Bible."

Critical reception

After seeing the film, it was reported that New York critics unanimously pronounced Glaum as "the greatest vampire woman of all time." Another reviewer noted that Glaum had become famous for her "vampire" characterizations and billed ''The Wolf Woman'' as the "Greatest Vampire picture of all."

References

External links

*
''The Wolf Woman''
at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolf Woman, The 1916 films Silent American drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films 1916 drama films Films directed by Raymond B. West 1910s American films