The Devil's Daughter is a lost 1915 American silent drama film directed by Frank Powell and starring Theda Bara. Based on the 1899 play La Gioconda by Italian writer Gabriele D'Annunzio, this updated adaptation portrayed the story of vengeful woman—a "vamp"—who uses her beauty and sensuality to lure a young man to ruin, destroying both his marriage and his career as an artist. The film was produced by Fox Film Corporation and shot at the company's studio in Fort Lee, New Jersey and on location in St. Augustine, Florida."Theda Bara and Company Go South for Fox Film", Motion Picture News, May 22, 1915, p. 54. Internet Archive. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
The Library of Congress includes the film among the National Film Preservation Board's updated 2019 list of "7,200 Lost U.S. Silent Feature Films" produced between 1912 and 1929."7,200 Lost U.S. Silent Feature Films (1912-29) National Film Preservation Board", running updated list (current as of October 23, 2019), "Devil's Daughter, The (1915), Frank Powell", p. 32, film number 1447. National Film Preservation Board, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Retrieved January 14, 2020."American Silent Feature Film: Database From the report 'The Survival of American Silent Feature Films: 1912-1929'", searchable database that includes nearly 11,000 complete or partial titles. Library of Congress. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
Plot
The story, set in contemporary Italy, portrays the destruction of a young couple's marriage caused by Gioconda Dianti, a beautiful but highly vindictive young woman. After being deserted by her former lover Luigi, she longs for revenge and vows, "As this man has done to me, so shall I do to all men. From now on my heart is ice, my passion consuming fire. Let men beware."Transcribed dialogue from one of the film's intertitles cited in "Theatres and Movies: At the Strand", published in the daily newspaper Nashville Tennessean and the Nashville American (1910-1920), June 30, 1915, p. 9. Nashville, Tennessee. ProQuest Historical Newspapers. She then acts on that pledge and dedicates herself to seducing and ruining the lives of men she meets. Soon she focuses her spiteful intentions on Lucio Sattella, a talented sculptor she encounters on a beach. Gioconda quickly manages to charm her way into his life by visiting Lucio's studio and agreeing to model for his masterpiece, a statue of a sphinx. Her flirtatious manner and enticing looks quickly captivate the artist, who is already married but falls hopelessly in love with her, so much so that he abandons his wife Silvia and their three-year-old daughter Beata.
Later, torn by the emotional stresses of his lust for Gioconda, his love of art, and guilt for leaving his family, a despondent Lucio attempts suicide. He shoots himself but survives. Silvia then nurses her severely wounded husband back to health; nevertheless, he returns to Gioconda. Enraged with jealousy and now desperate, Silvia confronts the sinister interloper in Lucio's studio, where the "vamp" continues to ridicule Silvia's efforts to win back her husband. A struggle between the two women ensues as Gioconda attempts to destroy Lucio's sculpture. The sphinx statue is knocked over, falls on Silvia, and crushes and maims her hands. Finally, the crippled wife discards any lingering devotion she has to Lucio and leaves him. Tormented by remorse and his rising hatred for the ruthless siren who has ruined his life, the once hopeful artist descends into madness, becoming a "raving maniac". As for Gioconda's fate, she too "suffers a fearful end"."The Duse of Today A Mold of D'Annunzio: Great Italian Actress Reappears in 'La Gioconda'", review, The New York Times, November 5, 1902, p. 9. ProQuest Historical Newspapers.
Cast Theda Bara as Gioconda Dianti"The Devil's Daughter (1915)", cast listing in catalog of the American Film Institute (AFI), Los Angeles, California. Retrieved November 13, 2019. Paul Doucet as Lucio Settala Doris Heywood as Silvia Settala Jane Lee as Beata Settala, Lucio and Silvia's Child Victor Benoit as Cosimo Dalbo, Lucio's Friend Robert Wayne as Lorenzo Gaddi, Master Sculptor Jane Miller as Francesca Doni, Silvia's Sister Elaine Ivans as La Sirenetta Edouard Durand as Roffiano Clifford Bruce as Undetermined Role
Production According to the film's 1915 copyright registration (LP6036), "scenarist" Joseph H. Trant based his storyline on the translated Broadway version of D'Annunzio's La Gioconda, which premiered in New York on November 4, 1902."The Devil's Daughter (1915)", catalog, American Film Institute (AFI), Los Angeles, California. Retrieved November 14, 2019. From the outset of Fox Film's planning for its screen adaptation, no one other than Theda Bara was considered to play the title role. In fact, numerous sources in 1915 report that one of the conditions that D'Annunzio insisted on in selling the rights of his 1899 play to Fox was that the studio guaranteed Bara would star in its film."Sharks and Snakes Make it Lively for Fox Players", Motion Picture News, June 12, 1915, p. 46. Internet Archive. Retrieved November 9, 2019."The Wickedest Face/Theda Bara's Asset", Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky), June 6, 1915, p, C4. ProQuest Historical Newspapers. Throughout production, the working title used for the film by Fox was simply "The Vampire", a title that trade publications often cited in their news items and updates about the "photoplay's" development in the weeks prior to its release.
Filming in New Jersey and Florida
The Devil’s Daughter was filmed during the latter half of April and May 1915, with some interior and backlot scenes shot at Fox's studio facilities in New Jersey, which were located near the corner of Main Street and Linwood Avenue in Fort Lee.Wander, Erik. "From the Archives: Theda Bara Rock, Fox Studio Back Lot, Main Street and Linwood Avenue, Circa 1915", Arts and Entertainment, Patch, Patch Media, Inc., New York City. Retrieved November 9, 2019. After shooting needed scenes there, Director Powell in early May left New Jersey by train, taking his cast and crew on location to St. Augustine, Florida. Production setups around that city proved to be uncomfortable physically for the company and challenging at times for filming. Trade publications in 1915 informed their readers that the actors and support personnel had to endure high temperatures and painful sunburns, as well as cope with poisonous snakes, sharks, and large sand crabs that were "liable to nip your toes off". "On the day of their arrival in the subtropical city", reports Motion Picture News, "the thermometer registered 96 degrees." The trade journal also mentions that Bara's initial attempt to escape the heat by swimming in the ocean was cut short by the sudden appearance of "well-known triangular black fins" cutting through the water. In addition, while she and other cast waited on the beach, Powell and his camera crew began scouting the surrounding area for additional locations to film outdoor scenes, but they were "compelled to sacrifice some of their very best backgrounds" due to the "prevalence of moccasin snakes".
Along with taking landscape and ocean footage near St. Augustine, Powell's crew filmed scenes at the mansion and grounds of the Villa Flora, the home of a Dr. Garnett."Tropical Days Fail to Wilt Fox Players", Motion Picture News, June 5, 1915, p. 66. Internet Archive. Retrieved December 28, 2019. They also used the Hotel Ponce De Leon and the Hotel Alcazar as settings for additional scenes."The Devil's Daughter (1915)", history, AFI. Retrieved November 13, 2019. When not rehearsing, filming, or scouting other locations, the cast and crew spent time in their accommodations at the Hotel Marion, where its proprietors—Mr. and Mrs. Henry Muller—placed their "85-foot motor yacht, Hilda, at the disposal of Frank Powell". A news item in the popular entertainment paper Variety documents that the director and his company had returned to New Jersey from Florida by May 28. Powell then began final editing and completed other post-production tasks before Fox released the film in mid-June."Film Flashes", Variety, May 28, 1915, p. 16. Internet Archive. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
Release, promotion and censorship Promotion of the film in 1915 included not only widespread advertisements and commentaries in newspapers and trade publications but also personal appearances by some cast members. In its issue of June 25—nine days after the film's release—Variety announces that Bara's costar, Paul Doucet, would be presenting a lecture in her hometown, Cincinnati, Ohio. The theme of his talk, states the paper, would be "on how d'Annunzio's 'Gioconda,' now called 'The Devil's Daughter,' was made" and would be presented when the film opened "at the Grand [Opera House] in a few days"."Cincinnati", Variety, June 25, 1915, p. 25. Internet Archive. Retrieved November 9, 2019. Yet, public interest in the film and specific interest in Bara, "the vampire woman", extended well beyond lectures and special appearances by its cast; it also prompted some state censor boards to ban the motion picture entirely from their communities or to cut substantial parts from it they deemed unacceptable. Two states in particular, Ohio and Kansas, drew significant media coverage during the summer and early fall of 1915 for their efforts to prevent or limit the public's exposure to the film. In a news item dated June 30 and titled "'Devil's Daughter' Censored", Variety updates its subscribers on the situation in Cincinnati: Following the midnight screening at his theater, the Grand's manager and the secretary of Cincinnati's retail association traveled to Columbus on June 28 "to protest" the censors' cuts to the film and to ask authorities at the state capital "to reconsider" their order. The businessmen's appeal resulted in some success. The state board of censors, in response to their visit and to mounting criticism of the board's actions by Ohio citizens, agreed to allow theaters to present the film with fewer deletions, reducing their cut order from 1,800 feet to 300 feet."The Devil's Daughter", The Cincinnati Enquirer, June 27, 2015, p. 15. ProQuest Historical Newspapers. The same scenario over censorship of the film occurred in Cleveland, including a private viewing of it. The select audience there, however, even included that city's police officers, all of whom gave their "hearty approval of the film" after seeing it and were "astonished" that Ohio's "censors had chopped it.""Police Approve 'The Devil's Daughter' Despite Censors", Motion Picture News, July 10, 1915, p. 40. Retrieved November 11, 2019."Ohio Public Incensed At Censors", Motion Picture News, September 18, 1915, p. 41. Internet Archive. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
While artistic and retail interests battled censors in Ohio, the full film was screened without incident in some other states but did confront censorship elsewhere. The Chicago-based film journal Motography reported in September 1915 that the Fox production had been widely shown in Oklahoma "without shocking public morals.""Middle West News", Motography (Chicago, Illinois), September 25, 1915, p. 645. Internet Archive. Retrieved November 10, 2019. Kansas, though, banned the film from being shown anywhere in the state. Its three-member board of review, including Carrie Simpson from the town of Paola, had also "barred and forbidden" several other films after its action against The Devil's Daughter."Board of Review - Agency History", state government records, Kansas Historical Society, Topeka, Kansas. Retrieved November 10, 2019. According to Motography, the increasing restrictions placed on the content of various motion pictures by Kansas had been "bitterly condemned by film producers and exhibitors" but the state's total "ban on 'The Devil's Daughter' aroused the flame of resentment to white heat."
General reception