The Devil's Bondwoman

The Devil's Bondwoman is a 1916 American silent drama film directed by Lloyd B. Carleton based on the story by F. McGrew Willis and starring Dorothy Davenport and Emory Johnson. The movie was released on November 20, 1916, by Universal [1][2]

The Devil's Bondwoman
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Directed byLloyd B. Carleton
Produced byUniversal Red Feather Photoplays
Written by
Starring
Distributed byUniversal
Release date
  • November 1916 (1916-November)
Running time
5 reels
CountryUSA
LanguageSilent (English intertitles

Background

This particular film was written by F. McGrew Willis and Walter Woods. They often combined their name into "Willis Woods." i.e., the credit for the story would be given to - "Willis Wood." In the film's original copyright entry, the names of scenarist Maie B. Havey and author Willis Woods are scratched out. The entry was replaced with the names of "Willis Woods" as the author and "Fred Myton" as the scenarist. An agreement was reached and "Fred Myton" was given credit as the prologue writer.[1]

Plot

The following synopsis appears on the American Film Institute's webpage - The Devil's Bondwoman [1]

After a prologue that takes place in Hell, young millionaire Mason Van Horton becomes involved with Doria, the vampish wife of influential businessman John Manners. When Mason falls in love with Beverly Hope, however, he rejects Doria, who, out of revenge, tells John that Mason tried to seduce her and then begs her husband to ruin him. An indignant John begins to topple Mason's financial empire but then finds his wife making love to Prince Vandloup. John, instantly realizing that she had lied about Mason and that it was she who had initiated the affair with him, denounces her. Vandloup then changes into the devil and carries Doria away with him.

- American Film Institute Synopsis

Cast
Actor Role
Dorothy DavenportBeverly Hope
Emory JohnsonMason Van Horton
Richard MorrisPrince Vandloup
Adele FarringtonDoria Manners
William CanfieldJohn Manners
Miriam ShelbyAunt Barbara
Arthur HoytThe Alchemist
C. Norman HammondThe Spirit of Fire

Production notes

The movie was filmed at Universal Studios located in Universal City, California.
During the film's development, the title was listed as - "The Devil's Die." This movie had another alternate title of "The Devil’s Bondswoman" [1] During the shooting of this film, Dorothy Davenport married name was - Mrs. Wallace Reid. After her husband's death in 1923, she started to use "Mrs. Wallace Reid" exclusively in the credits for any project she participated.[3]

Searching for a leading man

In early 1916, after Emory Johnson had signed his Universal contract, Carl Laemmle of Universal Film Manufacturing Company thought he saw a potential leading man in Johnson. Laemmle was looking for a leading man comparable to Wally Reid. He was also hoping to create a movie couple that could make sparks fly on the silver screen. Laemmle chose Johnson to be his new leading man. Laemmle chose Dorothy Davenport to generate the screen chemistry with Johnson. She was a Universal contract player who happened to be the wife of Wally Reid. Johnson and Davenport made 14 films together. The series started with the feature production of Doctor Neighbor in May 1916 and ended with another feature production, The Devil's Bondwoman, in November 1916. Over half the films were shorts; almost all were dramas. Johnson and Davenport shared top billing in most. Then Davenport got pregnant in October 1916, and her film output took a steep nosedive at the beginning of 1917.[4]

In the end, Laemmle thought Johnson did not have the talent or screen presence he wanted. He wasn't going to become Universal's answer to Wally Reid. Laemmle also believed that even though the pairing with Davenport had been financially successful, the films didn't have the screen chemistry he had sought.[5][4]

Searching for screen chemistry
Title
Released
Director
Davenport role
Johnson role
Type
Time
LOC
Brand
Notes
Doctor Neighbor May-1 L. B. Carleton Hazel Rogers Hamilton Powers Drama Feature Lost Red Feather [6]
Her Husband's Faith May-11 L. B. Carleton Unknown Unknown Drama Short Laemmle [7]
Heartaches May-18 L. B. Carleton Virginia Payne S Jackson Hunt Drama Short Lost Laemmle [8]
Two Mothers Jun-1 L. B. Carleton Violetta Andree 2nd Husband Drama Short Lost Laemmle [9]
Her Soul's Song Jun-15 L. B. Carleton Mary Salsbury Paul Chandos Drama Short Laemmle [10]
Romance at Random Jun-18 Rupert Julian unk unk Comedy Short Laemmle [11]
The Way of the World Jul-3 L. B. Carleton Beatrice Farley Walter Croyden Drama Feature Lost Red Feather [12]
Number 16 Martin Place Jul-13 L. B. Carleton Cleo Jacques Fournier Drama Short Laemmle [13]
A Yoke of Gold Aug-14 L. B. Carleton Carmen Jose Garcia Drama Feature Lost Red Feather [14]
The Unattainable Sep-4 L. B. Carleton Bessie Gale Robert Goodman Drama Feature 1 of 5 reels Bluebird [15]
Black Friday Sep-18 L. B. Carleton Elionor Rossitor Charles Dalton Drama Feature Lost Red Feather [16]
The Human Gamble Oct-8 L. B. Carleton Flavia Hill Charles Hill Drama Short Laemmle [17]
Barriers of Society Oct-10 L. B. Carleton Martha Gorham Westie Phillips Drama Feature 1 of 5 reels Red Feather [18]
The Devil's Bondwoman Nov-11 L. B. Carleton Beverly Hope Mason Van Horton Drama Feature Lost Red Feather [19]

Preservation Status

No known copies of this film survive.[20][21]

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References
  1. "The Devil's Bondwoman". catalog.afi.com.
  2. "The Devil's Bondwoman". www.tcm.com.
  3. "Dorothy Davenport". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  4. E.J. Fleming (July 27, 2010). Wallace Reid: The Life and Death of a Hollywood Idol. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-8266-5.
  5. "Plays and Players". Exhibitors Herald. Chicago, Exhibitors Herald. June 1, 1918. p. 1050.
  6. Doctor Neighbor on IMDb
  7. Her Husband's Faith on IMDb
  8. Heartaches on IMDb
  9. Two Mothers on IMDb
  10. Her Soul's Song on IMDb
  11. Romance at Random on IMDb
  12. The Way of the World on IMDb
  13. Number 16 Martin Place on IMDb
  14. A Yoke of Gold on IMDb
  15. The Unattainable on IMDb
  16. Black Friday on IMDb
  17. The Human Gamble on IMDb
  18. Barriers of Society on IMDb
  19. The Devil's Bondwoman on IMDb
  20. Progressive Silent Film List: The Devil's Bondwoman at silentera.com
  21. The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: The Devil's Bondwoman / Lloyd B Carleton (motion picture)
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