''The Conquering Power'' (1921) is an American silent

romantic drama Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

directed by Rex Ingram and starring Rudolph Valentino,

Alice Terry Alice Frances Taaffe (July 24, 1899 – December 22, 1987), known professionally as Alice Terry, was an American film actress and director. She began her career during the silent film era, appearing in thirty-nine films between 1916 and 1 ...

, and Ralph Lewis. The film was based on the 1833 novel ''

Eugénie Grandet ''Eugénie Grandet'' is a novel first published in 1833 by French author Honoré de Balzac. While he was writing it he conceived his ambitious project, ''La Comédie humaine'', and almost immediately prepared a second edition, revising the names ...

'' by

Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly , ; born Honoré Balzac;Jean-Louis Dega, La vie prodigieuse de Bernard-François Balssa, père d'Honoré de Balzac : Aux sources historiques de La Comédie humaine, Rodez, Subervie, 1998, 665 p. 20 May 179 ...

. Its sets were designed by

Ralph Barton Ralph Waldo Emerson Barton (August 14, 1891 – May 19, 1931) was a popular American cartoonist and caricaturist of actors and other celebrities. His work was in heavy demand through the 1920s and has been considered to epitomize the era, but hi ...

Plot

After the death of his father, young dandy Charles Grandet (Rudolph Valentino) is taken under the care of his uncle, Monsieur Grandet ( Ralph Lewis). The miserly Grandet, despite being the wealthiest man in his province, forces his family to live in poverty and schemes to cheat his nephew out of his inheritance from his father. Charles falls in love with Grandet's daughter Eugenie (Alice Terry) but Grandet condemns their love, and sends Charles away. While Charles is away, Grandet kills Eugenie's mother, which sends him further into a maddened state. Later, it is revealed that Eugenie is not really Monsieur Grandet's daughter; if she knew, then she could reclaim all of the gold that originally belonged to her mother, leaving her father penniless. Monsieur Grandet has a violent argument with Eugenie, after she finds letters sent by Charles that her father had hidden, and Monsieur Grandet accidentally locks himself in a small room where he keeps his gold. He starts hallucinating and is eventually killed after becoming frantic. Eugenie is now left an extremely wealthy young lady, which only intensifies the pressure put on her by two competing families to marry one of the suitors. She announces her engagement, but shortly after is reunited with Charles.

Cast

as Eugenie Grandet * Rudolph Valentino as Charles Grandet * Ralph Lewis as Père Grandet *

Carrie Daumery Carrie Daumery (25 March 1863 – 1 July 1938) was a Belgian-born American film actress. She appeared in more than 60 films between 1908 and 1937. Personal life Daumery was the sister of violinist Eugène Ysaÿe. She was also the widow of B ...

as Madame Grandet *

Bridgetta Clark Bridgetta Clark (born Ruth Porter Clark, January 13, 1891 – November 1980) was an American silent film actress. Her career was brief having appeared in only five films between 1921 and 1926. Career Born in Chicago, Illinois, Clark was the ...

as Madame des Grassins *

Mark Fenton Mark Fenton (November 11, 1866 – July 29, 1925) was an American stage performer and motion-picture character actor who appeared in at least 80 films between 1914 and 1925. Fenton had considerable experience performing on stage prior to ...

as Monsieur des Grassins *Ward Wing as Adolphe des Grassins *

Eric Mayne Eric Mayne (April 28, 1865 – February 10, 1947) was an American actor. Mayne was born in Dublin and was a star on stage in London in the early 20th century, at the London Lyceum and at Drury Lane. He appeared in the films ''The New York Peaco ...

as Victor Grandet *

Edward Connelly Edward Connelly (December 30, 1859 – November 21, 1928) was an American stage and film actor of the silent era. Biography Connelly had a Broadway theater career going back to the Victorian era. His Broadway credits include ''The Wild Du ...

as Notary Cruchot *George Atkinson as Bonfons Cruchot *Willard Lee Hall as Abbé Cruchot

Reception

A review from ''

Photoplay ''Photoplay'' was one of the first American film (another name for ''photoplay'') fan magazines. It was founded in 1911 in Chicago, the same year that J. Stuart Blackton founded '' Motion Picture Story,'' a magazine also directed at fans. For mo ...

'' claims that "The thoughtfully worked out characterizations and the general atmosphere are not only faithful to Balzac but go to make absorbing and valuable entertainment."

References

External links

*
''The Conquering Power'' at SilentEra
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Conquering Power, The 1921 films 1921 romantic drama films American romantic drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films based on Eugénie Grandet Films directed by Rex Ingram Articles containing video clips Surviving American silent films Metro Pictures films 1920s American films Silent romantic drama films Silent American drama films