She - A History of Adventure
by H. Rider Haggard
She synopsis from The Moving Picture World Dec '23, 1911
I picked up yet another photoplay novel. It was of the H.R. Haggard classic with film photos from the 1925 movie with Betty Blythe embellishing the text.
This was actually the first time I had ever read a Haggard novel for some reason. (I had never realized that Ayesha's powers and near-eternal life were * not * due to magical means.) This sampling makes me want to try more of Haggard's stuff at some point.
Naturally, I re-watched the two silent versions of the film that are available.
The 1911 version with James Cruze (who later gained notoriety as a director) is an early short (about 20 minutes) effort that summarizes the main points of the story. Because the inter-titles are pretty crude (they first describe an upcoming scene and then show it), I enjoy wathching She-1911 better when I read the synopsis first. Cruze over-acts a bit (even for the era) especially in the final scenes. But overall, the 1911 film is not bad for, well, 1911.
The 1925 film is more ambitious. According to the introduction: "The sub-titles for this production were specifically written by the late Sir H. Rider Haggard"...certainly a step in the right direction. (However, I seem to recall that the accuracy of Haggard's involvement is dubious but can't remember where I heard that). Anyway, the performances are fairly good and the film is enjoyable enough in this version. Most of all, it follows the novel more closely.
"She" was filmed at least three other times before 1925. (This does not include a brief "Column of Fire" segment done by Melies). Two productions were made in 1916. One probably may have never been shown since it was suppressed for copyright reasons. Yet another production was made in 1917. All of these appear to be gone.
written: 1/6/2002
revised: 2/19/2004