Smouldering Fires (film)
Encyclopedia
Smouldering Fires is a 1925
Universal
silent
drama film
directed by Clarence Brown
and starring Pauline Frederick
. Its plot is similar to the 1933 talking picture Female
, starring Ruth Chatterton
.
Copies of this film are archived by UCLA and George Eastman House
. It is available on video, and numerous prints exist in private collections.
) falls in love with a much younger Robert Elliott (Malcolm McGregor
), a employee from her factory. She promotes him to the position of her private secretary, and out of gratitude and to defend her reputation from rumors, he asks her to marry him. However, before the marriage can take place, Jane's younger sister Dorothy (Laura La Plante
) returns home from college and Robert and Dorothy fall in love. Lacking the courage to confess to Jane of his love for her sister, Robert marries Jane. Robert finds that the difference in ages between him and Jane are creating complications. When Jane realizes that Robert, though diligently attentive as a husband, is actually in love with her sister, she pretends that she has fallen out of love with him and seeks a divorce.
In The First Female Stars: Women of the Silent Era, author David W. Menefee writes that the film "presented Pauline (Frederick) in a memorable light, successfully carrying off the role of a woman business executive."
In Movies and American Society, author Steven J. Ross wrote that Smoudering Fires was "a cautionary tale of what happens when businesswomen become too successful."
1925 in film
-Events:*November 5: The Big Parade holds its Grand Premier*December 30: premier of Ben-Hur the most expensive silent film ever made costing 4-6 million dollars -Top grossing films :...
Universal
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
silent
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Clarence Brown
Clarence Brown
Clarence Brown was an American film director.-Early life:Born in Clinton, Massachusetts, to a cotton manufacturer, Brown moved to the South when he was 11. He attended Knoxville High School and the University of Tennessee, both in Knoxville, Tennessee, graduating from the university at the age of...
and starring Pauline Frederick
Pauline Frederick
Pauline Frederick was a leading Broadway actress who later became known for her motion picture work.-Early years:...
. Its plot is similar to the 1933 talking picture Female
Female (film)
Female is a 1933 Warner Bros. pre-code film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Ruth Chatterton and George Brent. It is based on the novel of the same name by Donald Henderson Clarke.-Plot:...
, starring Ruth Chatterton
Ruth Chatterton
Ruth Chatterton was an American actress, novelist, and early aviatrix.- Early life :Chatterton was born in New York City, on Christmas Eve 1892, to Walter Smith and Lillian Reed Chatterton...
.
Copies of this film are archived by UCLA and George Eastman House
George Eastman House
The George Eastman House is the world's oldest museum dedicated to photography and one of the world's oldest film archives, opened to the public in 1949 in Rochester, New York, USA. World-renowned for its photograph and motion picture archives, the museum is also a leader in film preservation and...
. It is available on video, and numerous prints exist in private collections.
Plot
At 40, businesswoman Jane Vale (Pauline FrederickPauline Frederick
Pauline Frederick was a leading Broadway actress who later became known for her motion picture work.-Early years:...
) falls in love with a much younger Robert Elliott (Malcolm McGregor
Malcolm McGregor
Malcolm McGregor was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 55 films between 1922 and 1936. He was born in Newark, New Jersey and died in Hollywood, California....
), a employee from her factory. She promotes him to the position of her private secretary, and out of gratitude and to defend her reputation from rumors, he asks her to marry him. However, before the marriage can take place, Jane's younger sister Dorothy (Laura La Plante
Laura La Plante
Laura La Plante was an American actress, best-known for her roles in silent films.-Early acting career:...
) returns home from college and Robert and Dorothy fall in love. Lacking the courage to confess to Jane of his love for her sister, Robert marries Jane. Robert finds that the difference in ages between him and Jane are creating complications. When Jane realizes that Robert, though diligently attentive as a husband, is actually in love with her sister, she pretends that she has fallen out of love with him and seeks a divorce.
Reception
Reviewer Hal Erickson wrote that the film "is a first-rate silent 'soap opera', immaculately performed by its superb cast and brilliantly directed." While praising the American release version, he made note that the "slightly longer European version is even better, with some remarkably mature (albeit non-lurid) setpieces".In The First Female Stars: Women of the Silent Era, author David W. Menefee writes that the film "presented Pauline (Frederick) in a memorable light, successfully carrying off the role of a woman business executive."
In Movies and American Society, author Steven J. Ross wrote that Smoudering Fires was "a cautionary tale of what happens when businesswomen become too successful."
Cast
- Laura La PlanteLaura La PlanteLaura La Plante was an American actress, best-known for her roles in silent films.-Early acting career:...
as Dorothy Vale - Malcolm McGregorMalcolm McGregorMalcolm McGregor was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 55 films between 1922 and 1936. He was born in Newark, New Jersey and died in Hollywood, California....
as Robert Elliott - Pauline FrederickPauline FrederickPauline Frederick was a leading Broadway actress who later became known for her motion picture work.-Early years:...
as Jane Vale - Tully MarshallTully MarshallWilliam Phillips was an American character actor known as Tully Marshall, with nearly a quarter century of theatrical experience behind before he made his first film appearance in 1914.-Career:...
as Scotty - Wanda HawleyWanda HawleyWanda Hawley , was a veteran of the silent screen films era. She entered the theatrical profession with an amateur group in Seattle, and later toured the U.S. and Canada as a singer. She co-starred with Rudolph Valentino in the 1922's The Young Rajah, and rose to stardom in a number of Cecil B...
as Lucy - Helen LynchHelen LynchHelen Lynch was an American silent-film actress.She was born in Billings, Montana where she was also raised. After winning a beauty contest conducted in her hometown, she soon went to movie studios and received little trouble gaining roles, starting out as an extra in 1918...
as Kate Brown - George CooperGeorge Cooper (actor)George Cooper was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared on stage first, then in 210 films between 1911 and 1940...
as Mugsy - Arthur LakeArthur Lake (actor)Arthur Lake was an American actor known best for bringing Dagwood Bumstead, the bumbling husband of Blondie, to life in film, radio and television.-Early life and career:...
as party guest
- Members of "The Committee"
- Bert RoachBert RoachBert Roach was an American film actor. He appeared in 327 films between 1914 and 1951.He was born in Washington, D.C., and died in Los Angeles, California.-Selected filmography:* Fatty's Magic Pants...
- Billy GouldBilly GouldBilly Gould is an American musician and producer. He is noted for playing bass in the band Faith No More.- Faith No More :...
- Rolfe SedanRolfe SedanRolfe Sedan was an American character actor.Born Edward Sedan in New York City, his mother was a Broadway theatre fashion designer and his father a symphony conductor....
- Jack McDonaldJack McDonald (actor)Jack McDonald was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 71 films between 1912 and 1930.He was born in San Francisco, California.-Selected filmography:* Show Boat * Don Q, Son of Zorro...
- William OrlamondWilliam OrlamondWilliam Orlamond was an American film actor.Orlamond appeared in 81 films between 1912 and 1938. He was born in Copenhagen, Denmark and died in Los Angeles, California, United States.-Selected filmography:...
- Frank Newburg
- Bobby Mack (as Robert Mack)
- Bert Roach
External links
- Smouldering Fires at silentera.com