''The Idol Dancer'' is a 1920 American silent

South Seas Today the term South Seas, or South Sea, is used in several contexts. Most commonly it refers to the portion of the Pacific Ocean south of the equator. In 1513, when Spanish conquistador Vasco Núñez de Balboa coined the term ''Mar del Sur'', ...

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 ...

produced and directed by D. W. Griffith. It stars

Richard Barthelmess Richard Semler Barthelmess (May 9, 1895 – August 17, 1963) was an American film actor, principally of the Hollywood silent era. He starred opposite Lillian Gish in D. W. Griffith's '' Broken Blossoms'' (1919) and ''Way Down East'' (1920) and ...

and

Clarine Seymour Clarine E. Seymour (December 9, 1898 – April 25, 1920) was an American silent film actress. Early life Seymour was the eldest of two children born to Albert V. Seymour and Florence Seymour in Brooklyn, a wealthy couple who were devout Method ...

in her final film role. Seymour was a young actress Griffith was grooming for stardom. She died of pneumonia shortly after emergency surgery for an intestinal blockage on April 24, 1920, less than a month after the film premiered.Progressive Silent Film List: ''The Idol Dancer''
at silentera.com The film is based on the story "Blood of the Covenants" by Gordon Ray Young. The scenario was written by

Stanner E. V. Taylor Stanner E.V. Taylor (September 28, 1877 – November 23, 1948) was an American screenwriter and film director of the silent film, silent era. He wrote for more than 100 films between 1908 and 1929. Biography He was born on September 28, 187 ...

Plot

Mary (Seymour) is the daughter of a French man and a Javanese mother and enjoys dancing. She has two lovers, one being a beachcomber (Barthelmess) who was tossed off a passing ship for failing to work and desires only to drink gin. The other is a sickly young American (Hale) who has come to the island in hope of regaining his health and is staying with his missionary uncle (MacQuarrie) and his wife (Bruce). Natives from a neighboring island attack. The beachcomber reforms and Mary comes to love him.

Cast

as Dan McGuire, beachcomber *

as Mary *

Creighton Hale Creighton Hale (born Patrick Fitzgerald; May 24, 1882 – August 9, 1965) was an Irish-American theatre, film, and television actor whose career extended more than a half-century, from the early 1900s to the end of the 1950s. Career Born in Cou ...

as Walter Kincaid *

George MacQuarrie George MacQuarrie (born as George Donald MacQuarrie; June 2, 1873 – April 1951), was an American actor of the silent era. Biography MacQuarrie was born in San Francisco, California in 1873 as George Donald MacQuarrie. He appeared in more ...

as Reverend Franklyn Blythe *

Kate Bruce Kate Bruce (February 17, 1860 – April 2, 1946) was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in more than 280 films between 1908 and 1931. She was born in Columbus, Indiana and died in New York City. In 1885, Bruce left Boone, I ...

as Mrs. Blythe *Porter Strong as Reverend Peter *

Anders Randolf Anders Randolf (December 18, 1870 – July 2, 1930) was a Danish American actor in American films from 1913 to 1930. Biography Anders was born in Viborg, Denmark, where he became a professional soldier in the Danish army and a world-class sw ...

as The Blackbirder *

Walter James Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 1 ...

as Chief Wando * Thomas Carr as Donald Blythe *Herbert Sutch as Old Thomas *

Adolph Lestina Adolph Lestina (1861– August 23, 1923) was an American stage and film actor who was a member of D. W. Griffith's stock company of film actors. Career He received positive notice for his performance in Justin McCarthy's ''If I Were King'' an ...

as Black Slave * Ben Grauer as Native Boy *

Walter Kolomoku Walter Kolomoku (February 14, 1889 – May 6, 1930) was a Hawaiian steel guitar musician, actor, and recording artist. He has a cameo in D. W. Griffith's film ''The Idol Dancer''. He recorded Southern Melodies Waltz No. 1 on Victor Records. He ...

as Native Musician *

Florence Short Florence Short (May 19, 1893 – July 10, 1946) was an American actress. She had numerous film roles as a supporting actress and was also cast in theatrical productions. She was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, and moved with her family to ...

as Pansy

Production

Griffith filmed exteriors for ''The Idol Dancer'' simultaneously with ''

The Love Flower ''The Love Flower'' is a 1920 American silent drama film produced by D. W. Griffith and released through the then nascent United Artist company of which Griffith was a founding partner.

'' (1920), in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

, and

Nassau, Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of the Bahamas. With a population of 274,400 as of 2016, or just over 70% of the entire population of the Bahamas, Nassau is commonly defined as a primate city, dwarfing all other towns in the country. ...

in December 1919.

Status

A 35mm print of the film is preserved by the Cohen Media Group. 16mm prints of the film are held in private collections.

References

External links

* *
Stills
at moviessilently.com
Southseascinema.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Idol Dancer, The 1920 films 1920 drama films Silent American drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films directed by D. W. Griffith Films shot in the Bahamas Films shot in Florida First National Pictures films 1920s American films