''When Men Desire'' is a 1919 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

J. Gordon Edwards James Gordon Edwards (June 24, 1867 – December 31, 1925) was a Canadian-born film director, producer, and writer who began his career as a stage (theatre), stage actor and stage director. Biography James Gordon Edwards was born in Montreal ...

and starring

Theda Bara Theda Bara ( ; born Theodosia Burr Goodman; July 29, 1885 – April 7, 1955) was an American silent film and stage actress. Bara was one of the more popular actresses of the silent era and one of cinema's early sex symbols. Her femme fatal ...

. It is presumed to be a

lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy o ...

Plot

As described in a film magazine review, after the United States declares war on Germany in 1917, American citizens within Germany like Marie Lohr (Bara), who was visiting her uncle Professor Lohr (Elkas) in Strassburg, hastily attempt to obtain passports and leave the county. However, Major von Rohn (Nye), a powerful officer in the German Army, desires her as a companion, noting that German officers in war time are permitted to have any woman that they fancy. Marie's American aviator sweetheart, Robert Stedman (Ward), has reached Switzerland, and Marie attempts to keep Von Rohn at a respectful distance. She escapes one hazardous situation when Stedman, during a mission, happens to drop a bomb on a house and apparently kills the German officer. Marie is then able to take, from a female German spy who was also in the house and crushed under the wreckage, passports and secret documents that instruct that the spy be taken through the French lines. Impersonating the spy, Marie is able to get to the German border, where she is detained by German soldiers who look to her to relieve their loneliness. Her companion from her journey is able to reach Robert, who then jumps into an airplane to rescue Marie. Marie holds off the soldiers and her identity is safe until von Rohn, recovered from his injuries, shows up at the woman's apartment where Marie is being held and where Robert is hidden in a closet. Marie stabs and kills Voh Rohn, and the two patriots escape after Robert dons the officer's uniform.

Cast

- Marie Lohr * Fleming Ward - Robert Stedman *

G. Raymond Nye G. Raymond Nye (April 13, 1889 – July 23, 1965) was an American film actor whose career began in silent era and lasted until the 1950s. He appeared in more than 110 films between 1912 and 1952. Biography Nye was born in Tamaqua, Pennsylva ...

- von Rohn *

Edward Elkas Edward Elkas (February 8, 1862 – December 17, 1933) was an American film actor of the silent era. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1911 and 1926. He was born in New York City. On Broadway, Elkas portrayed a headwaiter in ''A Tale o ...

- Professor Lohr * Maude Hill - Lola Santez * Florence Martin - Elsie Henner

Production

At this point in her career, members of the public either wanted to see Bara or, because of a deep seated prejudice resulting from her prior roles portraying a

vamp The VaMP driverless car was one of the first truly autonomous cars Dynamic Vision for Perc ...

, refused to go to any of her films. To play into the patriotism of the American audience, the film includes prominent displays of the

American flag The national flag of the United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the c ...

and at one point has Bara bursting into song, singing "

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the b ...

." Bara disliked the low budget film, objecting to the film's plot given that war films were by 1919 unpopular with audiences and because she was scratched several times while filming a fight scene with Nye, who wore a German helmet topped with a large spiky iron cross.

Reception

Although promoted as a "Theda Bara Super-Production," the film did poorly with audiences and the critics, and was not even reviewed in several newspapers and film magazines. The Kansas State Board of Review

censored Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

several intertitle cards it determined were too suggestive.

References

External links