''Sirens of the Sea'' is a 1917 American silent fantasy film directed and written by

Allen Holubar Allen Holubar (August 3, 1890 – November 20, 1923) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter of the silent film era. He appeared in 38 films between 1913 and 1917. He also directed 33 films between 1916 and 1923. Career Allen ...

based upon a screen story by Grace Helen Bailey. Featuring

Louise Lovely Louise Lovely (born Nellie Louise Carbasse; 28 February 1895 – 18 March 1980) was an Australian film actress of Swiss-Italian descent. She is credited by film historians for being the first Australian actress to have a successful career i ...

, it was distributed by the Jewel Productions division of

Universal Film Manufacturing Company Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

. It is not known whether the film currently survives.

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 ...

, a little girl, cast up from the sea in a fisherman's net from a wrecked ship, is adopted by the wealthy Wellington Stanhope (Deane) and his wife (Wright). The girl is the only survivor of the lost ship and no one knows anything about her. Eighteen years elapse and the child appears as the young debutante Sybil (Lovely) at a birthday party where she meets Hartley Royce (Quinn) and Gerald Waldron (Mulhall), who both fall in love with her. Julie (Myers) is jealous of Sybil, and plots with Harley to keep her separated from Gerald. Sybil tries to have Hadji (Selbie) tell the fortunes of the guests. While on an errand Sybil is followed by the impetuous Hartley who takes her in his arms, and to avoid him she jumps off a cliff into the sea. As the guests from the party search for her in boats, Gerald Waldron has a dream in which witches, spirits, nymphs, and sirens dance and plot on the beach at night. During the allegorical dream love (represented by Lovely) overcomes evil (represented by Myers). The spirits are driven away at the break of day and Gerald wakes up, finds his sweetheart Sybil on the beach, and takes her home. Sirens of the Seas advert Nashville Banner 28 Nov 1917

Sirens of the Seas advert Nashville Banner 28 Nov 1917

Cast

Production

Location scenes were shot at Santa Catalina Island, one of the

Channel Islands of California The Channel Islands () are an eight-island archipelago located within the Southern California Bight in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of California. The four Northern Channel Islands are part of the Transverse Ranges geologic province, ...

Reception

Like many American films of the time, ''Sirens of the Sea'' was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. For example, the Chicago Board of Censors required a cut of three scenes of women diving underwater and exposing their backs, the flashing of three scenes of the "Spirit of Sorrow" on a rock, and the cut of five scenes of nude women in the "Cave of Giants".

References

External list

*{{IMDb title, 0008579, Sirens of the Sea
Film still
at wisconsinhistory.org 1917 films American silent feature films Universal Pictures films American black-and-white films American fantasy films 1910s fantasy films Films directed by Allen Holubar 1910s American films