THEDA BARA
presents
The Serpent
Released Jan. 23, 1916 (at six reels). Rereleased by Fox on Jan. 5, 1919. Film may have been edited to five reels before rerelease.
Directed by Raoul A. Walsh.
Scenario by Raoul A. Walsh, from the story "The Wolf's Claw" by Philip Bartholomae. Cinematography by Georges Benoit.
Survival status: presumed lost.
From Allmovie.com:
Raoul Walsh both wrote and directed this typically bosom-heaving Theda Bara melodrama about a Russian peasant girl who is violated by a lecherous Grand Duke (Charles Craig). In classic Bara style, the girl turns into a bloodthirsty femme fatale and destroys not only the nobleman, but his entire family. Attempting to pacify local censorship boards, director Walsh betrayed his story slightly by employing the old 'it was all a bad dream' denouement, leaving Bara's heroine to peacefully contemplate a future with her nice fiance, George Walsh, the director's brother. Despite substituting Czarist Russia with what suspiciously looked like Fort Lee, New Jersey, The Serpent emerged as one of Bara's most popular films.