''The Woman of Bronze'' is a 1923 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 ...
directed by
King Vidor
King Wallis Vidor (; February 8, 1894 – November 1, 1982) was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter whose 67-year film-making career successfully spanned the silent and sound eras. His works are distinguished by a vivid, ...
and distributed through
Metro Pictures
Metro Pictures Corporation was a Film, motion picture production company founded in early 1915 in Jacksonville, Florida. It was a forerunner of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The company produced its films in New York, Los Angeles, and sometimes at leas ...
. It is based on a 1920 Broadway play by
Henry Kistemaeckers (adapted by
Paul Kester
Paul Kester (November 2, 1870 – June 21, 1933) was an American playwright and novelist. He was the younger brother of journalist Vaughan Kester and a cousin of the literary editor and critic William Dean Howells.
Life and career
Kester was born ...
) which starred
Margaret Anglin
Mary Margaret Warren Anglin (April 3, 1876 – January 7, 1958) was a Canadian-born Broadway actress, director and producer. Encyclopædia Britannica calls her "one of the most brilliant actresses of her day."
Biography
Anglin was born in O ...
,
John Halliday, and Mary Fowler. The film version is considered to be
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 ...
.
Plot
Vivian (Clara Kimball Young), a long-suffering wife, endures her artist husband’s infidelity with Sylvia (Kathryn McGuire), his young model. Leonard (Lloyd Whitlock) redeems himself when he recognizes the spiritual character of his wife. Vidor considered the film “out of my line.”
Cast
*
Clara Kimball Young
Clara Kimball Young (born Edith Matilda Clara Kimball;
September 6, 1890 – October 15, 1960) was an American film actress who was popular in the early silent film era.
Early life
Edith Matilda Clara Kimball was born in Chicago on Septembe ...
as Vivian Hunt
*
John Bowers as Paddy Miles
*
Kathryn McGuire
Kathryn McGuire (December 6, 1903 – October 10, 1978) was an American dancer and actress.
Early life
Born in Peoria, Illinois, McGuire was said to be recognized by critics and fans alike as one of the rising stars in film. Selected one of ...
as Sylvia Morton
*
Edwin Stevens as Reggie Morton
*
Lloyd Whitlock
Lloyd Whitlock (January 2, 1891 – January 8, 1966) was a prolific American actor who began working during Hollywood's silent era. Born in 1891, he appeared in nearly 200 films between 1916 and 1949. Distinguished by his height and stature, he ...
as Leonard Hunt
*
Edward Kimball
Edward Marshall Kimball (June 26, 1859 – January 4, 1938) was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1912 and 1936. Like many older actors of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, he enjoyed a varied stage ...
as Papa Bonelli
Production
During the filming of A Woman of Bronze Vidor was invited to join
Samuel Goldwyn Productions
Samuel Goldwyn Productions was an American film production company founded by Samuel Goldwyn in 1923, and active through 1959. Personally controlled by Goldwyn and focused on production rather than distribution, the company developed into the m ...
, with whom he would make two pictures: ''
Three Wise Fools'' (1923) and ''
Wild Oranges
''Wild Oranges'' is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by King Vidor, adapted from a story by Joseph Hergesheimer. On January 12, 2010, the film had its first home video release, on the Warner Archive DVD series.
Plot
When John Woolf ...
'' (1924).
Reception
“A heavy emotional drama” as reported by
Moving Picture World
The ''Moving Picture World'' was an influential early trade journal for the American film industry, from 1907 to 1927. An industry powerhouse at its height, ''Moving Picture World'' frequently reiterated its independence from the film studios.
I ...
, 14 April 1923)
[Durgnat and Simmon 1988 p. 340]
Footnotes
References
*
Durgnat, Raymond and Simmon, Scott. 1988. ''King Vidor, American.'' University of California Press, Berkeley.
External links
*
*
Stillsat silenthollywood.com
at silentfilmstillarchive.com
at stanford.edu
at impawards.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woman Of Bronze, The
1923 films
1923 drama films
1923 lost films
Silent American drama films
American silent feature films
American black-and-white films
American films based on plays
Films directed by King Vidor
Lost American drama films
Metro Pictures films
1920s American films