''Yolanda'' is a 1924 American silent

historical drama film A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swas ...

produced by

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...

(through his

Cosmopolitan Productions Cosmopolitan Productions, also often referred to as Cosmopolitan Pictures, was an American film company based in New York City from 1918 to 1923 and Hollywood until 1938. History Newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst formed Cosmopolitan in co ...

) and starring

Marion Davies Marion Davies (born Marion Cecilia Douras; January 3, 1897 – September 22, 1961) was an American actress, producer, screenwriter, and philanthropist. Educated in a religious convent, Davies fled the school to pursue a career as a chorus girl ...

Robert G. Vignola Robert G. Vignola (born Rocco Giuseppe Vignola, August 7, 1882 – October 25, 1953) was an Italian-American actor, screenwriter, and film director. A former stage actor, he appeared in many motion pictures produced by Kalem Company and later mov ...

directed as he had '' Enchantment'' (1921) and several other Davies costume films. The film began production as a Metro-Goldwyn film, with the company becoming

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

in May 1924. This was the second

vehicle produced by Cosmopolitan from a Charles Major novel, the first being the phenomenally successful (and expensive) '' When Knighthood Was in Flower'' in 1922. Unlike ''Knighthood'', ''Yolanda'' was not financially successful.

Plot

As described in a film magazine review, Princess Mary of Burgundy is informed by her father the Duke that she is to marry Maximillian of Styria. Presents are exchanged. The Princess incognito goes to the silk fair and meets and falls in love with a knight who proves to be Maximillian. The later is thrown into the castle dungeon by conspirators and is about to be executed when saved through the intervention of the Princess. Through evil influences the Duke is induced to change his mind regarding a son-in-law and transfers the alliance to one with the half-witted son of the French king. Mary is given over to the care of the French court. Maximillian rescues her and, following the death of the Duke in a battle with the Swiss, is chosen to lead the Burgundians. The wedding of Maximillian and Mary is announced.

Cast

Flickr - …trialsanderrors - Marion Davies, Ziegfeld girl, by Alfred Cheney Johnston, 1924

as Princess Mary / Yolanda *

Lyn Harding David Llewellyn Harding (12 October 1867 – 26 December 1952), known professionally as Lyn Harding, was a Welsh actor who spent 40 years on the stage before entering British made silent films, talkies and radio. He had an imposing and menaci ...

Charles the Bold Charles I (Charles Martin; german: Karl Martin; nl, Karel Maarten; 10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), nicknamed the Bold (German: ''der Kühne''; Dutch: ''de Stoute''; french: le Téméraire), was Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477. ...

, Duke of Burgundy *

Holbrook Blinn Holbrook Blinn was an American stage and film actor. Early years Blinn was the son of Civil War veteran Col. Charles Blinn and actress Nellie Holbrook-Blinn. He was born in San Francisco and attended Stanford University before he began a career ...

as King

Louis XI of France Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (french: le Prudent), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revo ...

Maclyn Arbuckle Maclyn Arbuckle (July 9, 1866 – March 31, 1931) was an American screen and stage actor. He was the brother of actor Andrew Arbuckle and cousin of comedian Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. Early life Arbuckle was born in San Antonio, Texas, on July ...

as Bishop La Balue *Johnny Dooley as The Dauphin * Arthur Donaldson as Lord Bishop *

Ralph Graves Ralph Graves (born Ralph Horsburgh; January 23, 1900 – February 18, 1977) was an American screenwriter, film director and actor who appeared in more than 90 films between 1918 and 1949. Biography Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Graves had alre ...

as Maximillian of Styria *

Ian Maclaren John Watson (3 November 1850 – 6 May 1907), was a minister of the Free Church of Scotland. He is remembered as an author of fiction, known by his pen name Ian Maclaren. Life The son of John Watson, a civil servant, he was born in Manningtre ...

as Campo Basse *

Gustav von Seyffertitz Gustav von Seyffertitz (4 August 1862 – 25 December 1943) was a German film actor and director. He settled in the United States. He was born in Haimhausen, Bavaria, and died in Los Angeles, California, aged 81. Biography Gustav von Seyffertit ...

as Oliver de Daim * Theresa Maxwell Conover as Queen Margaret * Martin Faust as Count Galli *Thomas Findley as Antoinette's father *

Paul McAllister Paul McAllister (June 30, 1875 – July 8, 1955), was an American film actor. He appeared in 37 films between 1913 and 1940. He was born in Brooklyn, New York and died in Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spa ...

as Jules d'Humbercourt *

Leon Errol Leon Errol (born Leonce Errol Sims, July 3, 1881 – October 12, 1951) was an Australian-American comedian and actor in the United States, popular in the first half of the 20th century for his appearances in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in film ...

as Innkeeper *Mary Kennedy as Antoinette Castleman unbilled *

Roy Applegate Roy Applegate (7 December 1878 – 9 February 1950) was an American actor Background He played Judge Gates in ''The Child of Destiny'' (1916), Opera House Manager in ''The Musician's Daughter'' (1911), Arthur Jepson in '' All for a Girl'' (1915) ...

as Sir Karl Pitti *Arthur Tovey *Kit Wain as Peasant boy

Production

In her 18th film,

starred in a dual role: as Princess Mary of Burgundy and as Yolanda.

Joseph Urban Joseph Urban (May 26, 1872 – July 10, 1933) was an Austrian-American architect, illustrator, and scenic designer. Life and career Joseph Urban was born on May 26, 1872, in Vienna. He received his first architectural commission at age 19 wh ...

designed the mammoth sets which covered a city block on 2nd Avenue in New York. '' Exhibitors Herald'' reported it was the largest movie set ever built on the East Coast. This was the final Davies film

directed. This was also the only pairing of Davies and

. While the film did well in big cities, that success did not extend to small towns and the film was generally considered a failure. It was just too similar to '' When Knighthood Was in Flower''.

Preservation

''Yolanda'' is extant at Cinematheque de Belgique and the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

and a trailer survives at 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 is ...

.''Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress'', c.1978 by The American Film Institute

References

External links

* *
Lobby poster for ''Yolanda''
(Wayback Machine)
Colorful advert
(Wayback Machine)

at silenthollywood.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Yolanda 1924 films American silent feature films Films directed by Robert G. Vignola Films based on American novels Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films American black-and-white films American historical drama films 1920s historical drama films Films set in France Films set in the 15th century Cultural depictions of Charles the Bold Cultural depictions of Louis XI of France 1924 drama films 1920s American films Silent American drama films