One of the few existing Theda Bara films, this comes off as silly today. Bara's character is billed as "The Vampire," which is appropriate since her acting bites ... but then, I could say that about everyone in the cast.
The film begins with what looks like somebody's home movies, and then the semblance of a plot begins. Bara has already led some guy to a ruin, and when he and she are aboard ship, he ends up blowing out what is left of his brains. This happens between scenes, so we see him point the gun to his head, and then a few scenes later, he is lying on the deck. So Bara moves on to a character billed as "The Husband," who is also on board. He is a diplomat headed for England (and ruin, of course). Scenes cut back and forth between his hapless wife and child in America, and he and Bara having a good time overseas. Eventually he loses his job, and ends up hitting the bottle. When he croaks, Bara drops some flower petals on his carcass.
I don't see the sex appeal of Bara. Her outfits are very strange; one consists of striped pants and a Robin Hood-type hat. Nothing she wears is the least bit alluring, unless in 1915, these outfits were considered racy. "The Husband" is played by Edward José, who was only about 35, but looks twice that, even before the makeup guys worked on him to make him looked aged. His acting makes Bara look like Meryl Streep. He spends some time on the floor and crawls down a staircase on his stomach - now that's real acting folks. Perhaps the best scene in the movie occurs when he and Bara are riding in a car, with some horse-drawn carriages on the same street. You don't have to look hard to see the horse manure.
The film begins with what looks like somebody's home movies, and then the semblance of a plot begins. Bara has already led some guy to a ruin, and when he and she are aboard ship, he ends up blowing out what is left of his brains. This happens between scenes, so we see him point the gun to his head, and then a few scenes later, he is lying on the deck. So Bara moves on to a character billed as "The Husband," who is also on board. He is a diplomat headed for England (and ruin, of course). Scenes cut back and forth between his hapless wife and child in America, and he and Bara having a good time overseas. Eventually he loses his job, and ends up hitting the bottle. When he croaks, Bara drops some flower petals on his carcass.
I don't see the sex appeal of Bara. Her outfits are very strange; one consists of striped pants and a Robin Hood-type hat. Nothing she wears is the least bit alluring, unless in 1915, these outfits were considered racy. "The Husband" is played by Edward José, who was only about 35, but looks twice that, even before the makeup guys worked on him to make him looked aged. His acting makes Bara look like Meryl Streep. He spends some time on the floor and crawls down a staircase on his stomach - now that's real acting folks. Perhaps the best scene in the movie occurs when he and Bara are riding in a car, with some horse-drawn carriages on the same street. You don't have to look hard to see the horse manure.