''The Gilded Spider'' is a 1916 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 ...

directed by

Joe De Grasse Joseph Louis De Grasse (May 4, 1873 – May 25, 1940) was a Canadian film director. Born in Bathurst, New Brunswick, he was the elder brother of actor Sam De Grasse. Biography Joseph De Grasse had studied and was a first-class graduate of ac ...

, written by

Ida May Park Ida May Park (December 28, 1879 – June 13, 1954) was an American screenwriter and film director of the silent era, in the early 20th century. She wrote for more than 50 films between 1914 and 1930, and directed 14 films between 1917 and 192 ...

and starring

Lon Chaney Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and affli ...

and

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 ...

. A print exists in the Museo del Cine Pablo C. Ducros Hicken film archive.

Plot

Giovanni (Lon Chaney), his wife Leonita, their daughter Elisa and his wife's mother Rosa all live in a small Italian village where Giovanni carves plaster statuettes for a living. An American millionaire named Cyrus Kirkham spots Leonita dancing and becomes obsessed with having her. During an attempt to kidnap her, Leonita jumps off the millionaire's yacht and drowns. When Kirkham goes back to America, he marries a woman named Norma Winston, who was in love with a poor man named Burton Armitage, but she marries Kirkham instead for his money. Armitage later comes into money, but he squanders it all away. Years pass and Giovanni moves his family to America. Giovanni's daughter Elisa grows up into a young lady and becomes involved with a young artist named Paul Winston, who hires her as a model. Giovanni finds out where Kirkham lives, and plans to kidnap Kirkham's wife Norma and hold her for ransom, but his kidnap plan is foiled. Kirkham suffers a heart attack when he sees Giovanni appear at a party in his home, and when Giovanni sees his daughter Elisa dancing at the party, he loses his sanity, reliving his wife's tragic death in his mind, and jumps off the roof to his death. In the end, with Kirkham dead, Norma winds up marrying her old flame Armitage, and Paul Winston winds up with Elisa.

Cast

as Giovanni *

in a dual role as both Leonita and Elisa (as an adult) *

Lule Warrenton Lule Warrenton (June 22, 1862 – May 14, 1932) was an American actress, director, and producer during the silent film era. She appeared in more than 80 films between 1913 and 1922. She was born in Flint, Michigan and died in Laguna Beach, C ...

as Rosa (Giovanni's mother-in-law) * Gilmore Hammond as Cyrus Kirkham, millionaire * Marjorie Ellison as Norma *

Hayward Mack Hayward Seaton Mack (March 20, 1882 – December 24, 1921) was an American actor of the silent era. Born in Albany, New York, in 1882, Mack appeared in more than 80 films between 1910 and 1921. Mack's motion picture career began in 1910; he ap ...

as Burton Armitage *

Jay Belasco Jay Belasco (January 11, 1888 May 1, 1949), born Reginald James Belasco, was an American film actor whose career mostly involved silent film. Belasco was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was a cousin of actors Walter Belasco and David Belasco. H ...

as Paul Winston, the artist

Reception

"The theme here presented is familiar but that might pass unnoticed if it were developed after a better fashion. The principal characters are not as well defined as could be.... Miss Lovely, we must confess, is not what one would associate with the Latin type of woman. She is pretty to the extreme, but her features are anything but Italian. Perhaps though that prettiness will triumph over the casting, it will with the trousered portion of the audience, anyway...Lon Chaney's Giovanni is a strong piece of character portrayal." --- Motion Picture News "In many ways attractive, blessed with fine types and an excellent cast, THE GILDED SPIDER brings criticism on itself by way of unprofessional construction. The story rambles considerably and gives the impression of being loose-jointed. Louise Lovely...plays well the role of Leonita...Lon Chaney also gives a good impersonation of the Italian." --- Moving Picture World "Bluebird seems to have the idea that spending a lot of money on a production, with a good cast, is all that is required for the turning out of successful features. ''The Gilded Spider'' is a hodge-podge melodrama, expensively visualized...(it) is not on a par with the best Bluebird releases." --- VarietyWorkman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 61. .

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilded Spider, The 1916 films 1916 drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films directed by Joseph De Grasse Universal Pictures films Silent American drama films Films about spiders 1910s American films