Flames of Passion
| Flames of Passion | |
|---|---|
 An American lobby card using the American title A Woman's Secret | |
| Directed by | Graham Cutts |
| Written by | Herbert Wilcox M. V. Wilcox |
| Produced by | Herbert Wilcox |
| Starring | Mae Marsh C. Aubrey Smith |
| Cinematography | René Guissart |
Production company | Graham-Wilcox Productions |
| Distributed by | Astra Film |
Release date | November 1922 |
Running time | 9 reels |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Languages | Silent film English intertitles |
Flames of Passion is a 1922 British silent film drama directed by Graham Cutts, starred Mae Marsh and C. Aubrey Smith.
The film was made by the newly formed Graham-Wilcox Productions company, a joint venture between Cutts and producer Herbert Wilcox. The entrepreneurial Wilcox tempted American star Marsh to England with a high salary offer, believing this would improve the film's marketability in the U.S.[1] She was paid £1,000 a week.[2]
The gamble paid off as it became the first post-war British film to be sold to the U.S. The final reel of the film was filmed in the bi-pack color process Prizma Color.[3]
Plot[edit]
The wife of a wealthy barrister seduces her chauffeur, with whom she falls in love. She gives birth to a baby, apparently without her husband knowing anything about her pregnancy.
The child is killed by the chauffeur during a car accident—he was visibly drunk when driving. The result is a showpiece trial at the Old Bailey, presumably of the chauffeur on a charge of infanticide, in which the woman at first tries to protect her lover, but is forced finally under cross-examination to make a dramatic public confession that the dead infant was hers. By the end of the film, she returns to her husband.
Cast[edit]
- Mae Marsh as Dorothy Hawke
- C. Aubrey Smith as Richard Hawke, K.C.
- Hilda Bayley as Kate Watson
- Herbert Langley as Arthur Watson
- Allan Aynesworth as Forbes
- Eva Moore as Aunt
- George K. Arthur as Friend
- Henry Vibart as Lord Chief Justice
Reception[edit]
Flames of Passion proved controversial with critics, many of whom found the subject matter lurid, sensationalist and distasteful. Cinemagoers had no such qualms, and turned the film into a big box-office hit, Wilcox's first commercial success.[3]
This was the first British film to be sold for distribution in the United States following World War I where it was shown under the title A Woman's Secret.[4]
Preservation status[edit]
A print with Dutch titles exists at the British Film Institute.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Herbert Wilcox BFI Screen Online. Retrieved 21 September 2010
- ^ "Anna Neagle's Herbert Takes On A New Star". Truth. No. 2756. Brisbane. 18 January 1953. p. 22. Retrieved 17 August 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ a b Graham Cutts BFI Screen Online. Retrieved 21 September 2010
- ^ Waldman, Harry (1994). Beyond Hollywood's Grasp: American Filmmakers Abroad, 1914-1945. Scarecrow Press. p. 123. ISBN 0-8108-2841-3.
External links[edit]
- Flames of Passion at IMDb
- Flames of Passion at SilentEra
- The Flames of Passion at Jazz Age Club
- Flames of Passion at BFI Film & TV Database
