Soul-Fire

Soul-Fire (also known as Soul Fire)[2][3][4] is a 1925 American silent drama film starring Richard Barthelmess and Bessie Love. It was directed by John S. Robertson and was based on the Broadway production Great Music (1924) by Martin Brown.[5]

Soul-Fire
Film poster
Directed byJohn S. Robertson
Produced byRichard Barthelmess
Written byJosephine Lovett (scenario)
Based on
Great Music (play)[1]
by
  • Martin Brown
  • C. Linn Seiler (music)
StarringRichard Barthelmess
Bessie Love
CinematographyRoy Overbaugh
Edited byWilliam Hamilton
Production
company
Inspiration Pictures
Distributed byFirst National Pictures
Release date
  • May 3, 1925 (1925-05-03) (U.S.)
Running time
9 reels; 8,262 feet[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent (English intertitles)

The film was funded by Barthelmess through his Inspiration Pictures and released by First National Pictures.

Plot

Eric Fane (Barthelmess) leaves New York City and travels to Italy to study music composition. He then travels to Paris and Port Said, where he encounters women who inspire him to write new types of music. When he finally arrives in the South Seas, he meets Teita (Love), who inspires him to write the best music of all.[2][6][7]

Cast
  • Richard Barthelmess as Eric Fane
  • Bessie Love as Teita
  • Percy Ames as Critic
  • Charles Esdale as Critic
  • Effie Shannon as Mrs. Howard Fane, Eric's mother
  • Lee Baker as Howard Fane, Eric's father
  • Carlotta Monterey as Princess Rhea
  • Gus Weinberg as The Old Musician
  • Ann Brody as Princess Rhea's maid
  • Helen Ware as San Francisco Sal
  • Walter Long as Herbert Jones, a Sailor
  • Rita Rossi as The Prima Donna
  • Edward LaRoche as The Orchestra Leader
  • Harriet Sterling as Ruau
  • Richard Harlan as Nuku
  • Ellalee Ruby as Dancer in a Music Hall
  • Arthur Metcalfe as Dr. Travers, of the Leper Island
  • George Pauncefort as Mr. Simpson, an Attorney
  • Aline Berry as Fleurette, a Mannequin
  • Harry Redding as The Disappointed Musician
  • Leah La Roux as a Dancer
  • Zebaida as a Dancer[8]

Actors Helen Ware, Harriet Sterling, Edward LaRoche, and Leah La Roux were all cast members of the original play.[5][9][10]

Production

Most interiors were filmed at deForest Studios in Manhattan. An Italian restaurant in Manhattan was used as a location for the film. Exteriors for the South Seas were shot throughout Florida.[11]

Reception

The film received generally positive reviews, with Barthelmess and Love receiving acclaim for their performances.[2][3][4][6]

gollark: Observe, my NFT™.
gollark: 0 to infinity.
gollark: Suppose faster. The bees approach.
gollark: It might be "cowardly" or something but the moralising around that is stupid and it's less mean plus safer.
gollark: You could also go somewhere else, using "running" technology, instead.

References
  1. Brown, Martin. Great Music. music by C. Linn Seiler. OCLC 44633591.
  2. "Soul-Fire". The Film Daily. May 10, 1925. p. 8.
  3. "A Confidential Guide to Current Releases". Picture-Play Magazine. November 1925. p. 119.
  4. "What the Fans Think". Picture-Play Magazine. December 1925. p. 10.
  5. "Great Music". Internet Broadway Database. Soul-Fire produced on Broadway as Great Music (1924) at the Earl Carroll Theatre, October 4, 1924 – November 1924, 44 performances
  6. "The Shadow Stage". Photoplay. Vol. 28 no. 1. June 1925. p. 49.
  7. Munden, Kenneth W., ed. (1971). The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films 1921–1930. New York: R.R. Bowker Company. pp. 748–9. OCLC 664500075.
  8. "Casts of Current Photoplays". Photoplay. Vol. 28 no. 1. June 1925. p. 130.
  9. Bennett, Carl (December 6, 2017). "Progressive Silent Film List: Soul-Fire". Silent Era.
  10. "The AFI Catalog of Feature Films: Soul-Fire". AFI.
  11. Love, Bessie (July 21, 1964). "Embers of Soulfire". The Christian Science Monitor. Boston, Mass. p. 8.


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