Theda Bara
Presents:
"The She-Devil"
The She-Devil (Fox; 6 reels; rel. Dec. 1918)
Cast: Theda Bara (Lolette); Albert Roscoe (Maurice Tabor); Frederick Bond (Apollo); George A. McDaniel (The Tiger).
Directed by J. Gordon Edwards. Written by George Neje Hopkins ("Neje"). Photography by John Boyle and Harry Gerstad.
"The She-Devil was a melodramatic romance of Paris and Old Spain, in which Theda played Lolette, belle of Juanquera. The script was by George Neje Hopkins, her close friend and dress designer (known familiarly as "Neje")... By the time she made this movie one newspaper was calling her a star who "has grown in brilliancy until now.
She is probably the best known actress of the screen.
Lolette leaves her Spanish village to follow her current lover, an artist, to Paris. In a cafe, she demonstrates how to properly dance the flamenco, and all of Paris' impresarios want to sign her up. She takes money from all of them but leaves it in the poor box at a church. Her artist lover convinces her to flee with him, since she will be wanted by the police for fraud. Meanwhile, an old lover, a bandit from her village, has found her in Paris and continues to pursue her and the artist in their escape. She tricks the bandit into letting them escape, in what Variety called "an elaborate and atmospheric" film.
From Silentera.com:
Released 10 November 1918.
The film is presumed lost.
Lolette (Theda Bara) is a fiery young Spanish girl. When a painter, Maurice (Albert Roscoe), comes to her town in search of locations, she falls in love with him. But when he's ready to return to Paris, he refuses to take her along. She's determined to follow him, though. To get the money, she steals jewels and loot from a bandit named Tiger (George McDaniel) who has been lusting after her. She finds Maurice, and he decides to use her as a model. He finds her a particularly inspiring subject. One evening they go to the theatre to see some Spanish dancers. Lolette is not impressed, and she proceeds to show them how it's really done. That night, Tiger, who has tracked her down, tries to get his jewels back, but Maurice, thinking he is merely a burglar, overpowers him. The next day, a pack of impresarios offer her contracts. She accepts advance money from all of them then puts all of the cash into an orphans' box. Maurice finds out what she has done and insists they must run away or she will be arrested. Once again they encounter Tiger, but they trick him and hit the road once again. This picture was solid Theda Bara entertainment; it failed at the box-office, however, because it was released on 10 November 1918--the day before the Armistice. The last thing people cared about that week was a vamp movie.
-- Janiss Garza.
