Souls for Sale
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| Souls for Sale | |
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| Directed by | Rupert Hughes |
| Produced by | Rupert Hughes |
| Written by | Rupert Hughes (novel and screenplay) |
| Starring | Eleanor Boardman Lew Cody Richard Dix Mae Busch |
| Music by | Marcus Sjöwall (2006) |
| Cinematography | John J. Mescall |
| Distributed by | Goldwyn Pictures |
| Release date(s) | March 27, 1923 (original) January 24, 2006 (restored) |
| Running time | 80 min. |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | Silent film English intertitles |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Souls for Sale is a 1923 silent film written, directed, and produced by Rupert Hughes from his novel of the same name. The film featured Eleanor Boardman in her first leading role, having won a contract with Goldwyn Studios through their "New Faces of 1921" contest just two years prior. The film is most notable for its insights into the early film industry. Among the significant cameos in the film are appearances by directors King Vidor, Fred Niblo, Marshall Neilan, Charlie Chaplin, and Erich von Stroheim, as well as a number of actors, producers, and other filmmakers. Souls for Sale includes rare behind-the-scenes footage of Chaplin and von Stroheim directing the films A Woman of Paris and Greed.
For some time Souls for Sale was thought to be lost, until copies began surfacing in various film vaults and private collections in the 1980s and 90s. In 2005, a partnership between MGM and the cable channel Turner Classic Movies resulted in a restored print of the film. Marcus Sjöwall, the winner of TCM's Young Film Composers Competition, developed a new film score for the film. The restored version of the film with new musical score was premiered on the channel on January 24, 2006.
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[edit] Plot
Remember Steddon (Eleanor Boardman) leaves her family to elope with Owen Scudder (Lew Cody). On the train to California, however, she discovers her new husband isn't all he seems. Scudder is a crook who marries women, insures them, and then murders them for the payoff. Realizing this, Steddon leaves the train as it stops at a water tank and escapes into the desert. Severely dehydrated, she stumbles onto a film shoot and is saved by leading man Tom Holby (Frank Mayo). While she recuperates, she is given a role as an extra in the film, but rather than following the troupe back to Hollywood, she goes to a desert town and finds work.
In search of a job she finds herself in Hollywood, where she comes across director Frank Claymore (Richard Dix). Seeing promise in the young woman, he gives her a screen test for a comic role. Though she fails miserably, when Claymore offers her a dramatic role in another production, her talent is unveiled. Just as Mem rises to fame as an actress, Scudder returns to blackmail her. Meanwhile, a love triangle develops between the movie star Holby, the director Claymore, and Mem. In the film's climactic conclusion, a lightning storm causes a fire which engulfs a circus tent in the middle of filming involving the three, with Scudder lurking in the background. In the confusion Scudder attempts to kill Claymore by driving a wind machine towards him (It's an airplane engine and propeller with no safety guard) but when Mem steps into the path Scudder pushes her out of the way, fatally injuring himself. As he dies he apologizes, explaining that all his life there was something wrong with him. With everyone rescued, Claymore orders the cameras to photograph the fire, so it can be worked into the picture.
[edit] Cast
- Eleanor Boardman as Remember "Mem" Steddon
- Lew Cody as Owen Scudder
- Richard Dix as Frank Claymore
- Mae Busch as Robina Teele
- Frank Mayo as Tom Holby
- Barbara La Marr as Leva Lamaire
- Arthur Hoyt as Jimmy Leland
- David Imboden as Caxton
- Roy Atwell as Arthur Tirrey
- Forrest Robinson as Rev. John Steddon
- Edith Yorke as Mrs. Steddon
- William Orlamond as Lord Fryingham
- Aileen Pringle as Lady Jane
