''The Woman Who Walked Alone'' is a 1922 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

George Melford George H. Melford (born George Henry Knauff, February 19, 1877 – April 25, 1961) was an American stage and film actor and director. Often taken for granted as a director today, the stalwart Melford's name by the 1920s was, like Cecil B. DeMil ...

and written by John Colton and Will M. Ritchey. The film stars

Dorothy Dalton Dorothy Dalton (September 22, 1893 – April 13, 1972) was an American silent film actress and stage personality who worked her way from a stock company to a movie career. Beginning in 1910, Dalton was a player in stock companies in Chicago; Te ...

Milton Sills Milton George Gustavus Sills (January 12, 1882 – September 15, 1930) was an American stage and film actor of the early twentieth century. Biography Sills was born in Chicago, Illinois, into a wealthy family. He was the son of William Henr ...

E. J. Ratcliffe Edward J. Ratcliffe (10 March 1863 – 28 September 1948) was an English actor of stage and screen. He had an established stage career behind him when he came to films in 1915. He then spent nearly twenty years before the cameras before making hi ...

Wanda Hawley Wanda Hawley (born Selma Wanda Pittack; July 30, 1895 – March 18, 1963) was an American actress during the silent film era. She entered the theatrical profession with an amateur group in Seattle, and later toured the United States and Can ...

Frederick Vroom Frederick Vroom (11 November 1857 – 24 June 1942) was a Canadian actor of the silent film era. Vroom appeared in more than 70 films between 1912 and 1939, mostly in supporting roles and bit parts. He played featured roles in Buster Keaton' ...

Mayme Kelso Mayme Kelso (February 28, 1867 – June 5, 1946) was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in more than 70 films between 1911 and 1927. She was born in Columbus, Ohio, and died in South Pasadena, California from a heart attac ...

, and John Davidson. The film was released on June 11, 1922, by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

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 ...

, Lady Iris Champneys is forced into an unwelcome marriage to the old and cranky but wealthy Earl of Lemister (Ratcliffe) by her penniless parents and almost immediately he divorces her when he discovers her in the room of one of his guests, where she had gone to recover some letters of her sister Muriel (Hawley). Iris has casually met Clement Gaunt (Sills), a former American

ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...

who is now employed as a chauffeur by a neighbor. Clement loses his job and goes to South Africa where he is employed by Schriemann, a

Boer Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape Colony, Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controll ...

farmer. He becomes involved in an unsought and compromising situation with the farmer's wife Hannah (Van Buren). In a fight with Schriemann, the later is shot by his dusky wife. She throws the blame upon Clement, and he hides in the mountains. While replenishing his supplies he spies the exiled Iris, now a proprietress of a hotel where the mounted police congregate. Iris is informed by Mombo (Holland), a former servant of Schriemann, that Clement or "Yankee Jim" is a murderer. She sends for Jock MacKeinney, leader of the mounted police, and they arrest Clement. Iris has now discovered that Clement is not a murderer, and agrees, upon a coin toss, to marry him if he is set free or that he would submit to arrest. Iris wins the toss and marries Clement, but Jock is not satisfied and trails the couple when they try to escape. After a long chase scene, Clement is caught, but Iris forces a confession from Schriemann's wife, which brings about the happy ending.

Cast

as The Honorable Iris Champneys *

as Clement Gaunt *

as Earl of Lemister (credited as E.J. Radcliffe) *

as Muriel Champneys *

as Marquis of Champneys *

as Marchioness of Champneys (credited as Maym Kelso) * John Davidson as Otis Yeardley *Harris Gordon as Sir Basil Deere *

Charles Stanton Ogle Charles Stanton Ogle (June 5, 1865 – October 11, 1940) was an American stage and silent-film actor. He was the first actor to portray Frankenstein's monster in a motion picture in 1910 and played Long John Silver in ''Treasure Island'' in ...

as Schriemann *

Mabel Van Buren Mabel Van Buren (born Mabel Brown Southard; July 17, 1878 – November 4, 1947) was an American stage and screen actress. Biography As a theatrical performer she played the leading lady in both ''The Virginian'' and ''The Squaw Man'' (190 ...

as Hannah Schriemann *

Maurice Bennett Flynn Maurice Bennett Flynn (May 26, 1892 – March 4, 1959) was an American football player and actor. He was also known as "Lefty" Flynn because in football, he kicked with his left foot. Biography Flynn was born in Greenwich, Connecticut on May 26 ...

as Jock MacKeinney (credited as Maurice 'Lefty' Flynn) *Cecil Holland as Mombo *John McKinnon as Lemister's Butler (credited as John MacKinnon) *

Tempe Pigott Tempe Pigott (2 February 1869 – 6 October 1962) was an Australian silent and sound screen character actress. She was a stage actress in England and Australia, Canada and the United States for a number of years before entering motion pictures. ...

as Iris’ maid

Production

Dalton wore a blonde wig for the film so that her character Iris would have an appearance similar to her sister Muriel, who was played by Wanda Hawley.

Preservation

A copy of ''The Woman Who Walked Alone'' is housed at the Gosfilmofond in Moscow.American Silent Feature Film Survival Database ''The Woman Who Walked Alone''
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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Woman Who Walked Alone, The 1922 films Famous Players-Lasky films Silent American drama films 1922 drama films Paramount Pictures films Films directed by George Melford American black-and-white films American silent feature films 1920s American films