''Venus of the South Seas'', also known as ''Venus of the Southern Seas'', is a 1924 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 ...
directed by James R. Sullivan starring swimmer
Annette Kellerman
Annette Marie Sarah Kellermann (6 July 1887 – 6 November 1975) was an Australian professional swimmer, vaudeville star, film actress, and writer.
Kellermann was one of the first women to wear a one-piece bathing costume, instead of the then ...
. It was one of the last films with footage in the
Prizma Color process.
The 55-minute four-reel film, made by an American company and shot in
Nelson, New Zealand. It includes substantial footage taking place
underwater. The film, with the final reel in Prizmacolor, was restored by the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...
in 2004.
Progressive Silent Film List: ''Venus of the South Seas''
at silentera.com
Plot
The daughter of a man who owns a South Seas pearl business falls in love with a wealthy traveler. Her father dies, leaving her the business, but a greedy ship captain schemes to take the business from her.
Cast
*Annette Kellerman
Annette Marie Sarah Kellermann (6 July 1887 – 6 November 1975) was an Australian professional swimmer, vaudeville star, film actress, and writer.
Kellermann was one of the first women to wear a one-piece bathing costume, instead of the then ...
as Shona Royal
*Roland Purdie as John Royal
*Norman French as Captain John Drake
*Robert Ramsey as Robert Quane
See also
* List of early color feature films
This is a list of early feature-length color films (including primarily black-and-white films that have one or more color sequences) made up to about 1936, when the Technicolor three-strip process firmly established itself as the major-studio f ...
References
Other sources
''New Zealand Film 1912-1996'' by Helen Martin & Sam Edwards, p. 33 (1997, Oxford University Press, Auckland)
External links
*
*
Tinted and toned images
at filmcolors.org
*
1924 films
1920s color films
Films shot in New Zealand
American silent feature films
Films set in Oceania
New Zealand silent films
Silent films in color
Films about mermaids
1920s rediscovered films
1924 drama films
Rediscovered American films
Early color films
1920s American films
Silent horror films
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