''Without Benefit of Clergy'' is a 1921 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 James Young and featuring Virginia Brown Faire, Thomas Holding and

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established h ...

. It is based on the story by

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

. A print of the film still exists at the UCLA Film and Television Archives and at Archives Du Film Du CNC (Bois D'Arcy/Paris).

Plot

Holden, a young English engineer in India, falls in love with the native girl Ameera, so he buys her from her mother. Their marital union violates the strict social structure they live in. They live together very happily until their baby son dies. Later, Ameera dies during a

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

epidemic. The film's tagline was "The deathless drama of Ameera, the Hindu girl, and the British engineer, whose "love need no caste." (Print Ad in the Sunday Chronicle, ((Paterson, NJ)) 4 September 1921)

Cast

Virginia Brown Faire Virginia Brown Faire (born Virginia Cecelia Labuna; June 26, 1904 – June 30, 1980) was an American silent film actress, appearing in dramatic films and, later, in sound westerns. Early years Virginia Cecelia Labuna was born in Brooklyn, New Yo ...

as Ameera *

Thomas Holding Thomas J. Holding (25 January 1880 – 4 May 1929) was a British-born stage and film actor. Biography Born in England in 1880, Holding possibly had an extensive stage career in his native Britain before arriving in the United States. He was po ...

as Holden, an American engineer in India *

Evelyn Selbie Evelyn Selbie (July 6, 1871 – December 7, 1950) was an American stage actress and performer in both silent and sound films. Biography Born in Louisville, Kentucky, as a young woman Selbie was a sidesaddle rider. She had a career which last ...

as Ameera's mother *

as Ahmed Khan *

Ruth Cummings Ruth Cummings (originally credited under her maiden name, Ruth Sinclair) was an American screenwriter and actress active from the 1910s through the 1930s. She was married to actor-director Irving Cummings in 1917, and they had a son, screenwriter ...

as Alice Sanders (credited as Ruth Sinclair) *

Nigel De Brulier Nigel De Brulier (born Francis George Packer; 8 August 1877 – 30 January 1948) was an English stage and film actor who began his career in the United Kingdom before relocating to the United States. Biography De Brulier was born in Frenchay, a ...

as Pir Khan *

Percy Marmont Percy Marmont (25 November 1883 – 3 March 1977) was an English film actor. Biography Marmont appeared in more than 80 films between 1916 and 1968. A veteran film actor by 1923, he scored a big hit that year in ''If Winter Comes'', later rem ...

Philippe De Lacy Philippe De Lacy (July 25, 1917 – July 29, 1995) was a French-American silent film era child actor who became a film producer, director, and cinematographer in adulthood. Early life Born during World War I, the already fatherless Philippe los ...

as Tota, at age 5 (uncredited) *

Otto Lederer Otto Lederer (April 17, 1886 – September 3, 1965) was a Czech-American film actor. He appeared in 120 films between 1912 and 1933, most notably ''The Jazz Singer'', the first full-length film to have sound sequences, and the Laurel and H ...

as Ahghan the moneylender (uncredited) *

Herbert Prior Herbert Prior (2 July 1867 – 3 October 1954) was an English silent film actor. He appeared in more than 260 films between 1908 and 1934. He was born in Oxford, Oxfordshire, and died in Los Angeles, California. Prior was married to actress ...

as Hugh Sanders (uncredited) * E. G. Miller as Michael Revenish

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Without Benefit Of Clergy 1921 films 1921 drama films Silent American drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films directed by James Young Pathé Exchange films Surviving American silent films 1920s American films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links