Florence-La-Badie-in-The-Woman-in-White-1917-000

   Florence La Badie

 

Directed by               Ernest C. Warde
Produced by             Thanhouser Film Corporation
Scenario by               Lloyd F. Lonergan, from the novel The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins      
Starring                     Florence La Badie, Richard R. Neill
Cinematography       William M. Zollinger
Distributed by           Pathé Exchange, Incorporated
Release date               July 1, 1917
Running time             1 hour, 8 minutes
Country                      United States
Language                    Silent film, English intertitles

 

This film is part of our series 'Hidden Gems'. It can be watched by registered users who make a donation. For more details, please click here.

 

"The Woman in White" (1917) is a drama, included in our program to illustrate the work and contributions of our star Florence La Badie. She died just three months after the film's release as a result of injuries sustained in an auto accident.  She was only 29.

 

Florence La Badie plays two roles in the film - one is Ann, a sick girl who escapes from an insane asylum, and the other is Laura, the heiress of a large estate nearby.

Laura is an orphaned girl, raised by her uncle.  According to her wishes, she gets an arts teacher and they seem attracted to each other.  One day, however, Laura receives a telegram that a man by the name of Glyde is arriving next morning.  The arts teacher learns that the dying wish of Laura's father was that she marry Glyde.  Despondent, the teacher resigns and leaves.  Laura is heartbroken as well, because she does not love her future husband.

Laura asks Glyde to release her from the engagement, to no avail.  Then she gets a note from the sick girl warning her that Glyde is not the man he appears to be.  He brushes off the note as unimportant and eventually they become man and wife.

They return from honeymoon in the company of a certain doctor.  We learn that Glyde and the doctor are hatching a plot against Laura. Then the sick girl meets Laura and again warns her to distrust her husband.  The doctor, who is constantly spying on Laura, witnesses the encounter.  He then meets Glyde and tells him that the sick girl and his wife look very much alike, and that he has a plan.  The conspirators' intentions receive a boost when the sick girl dies and Glyde's secret, which she wanted to share with Laura, appears to be gone forever.

 

A special acknowledgement

Let's all give our thanks to Ned Thanhouser for the outstanding work he has done for the past 25+ years in archives around the globe to acquire and publish on DVD and online Thanhouser films starring Florence La Badie. 

You can learn about Ned Thanhouser's new documentary and watch free online full length videos of surviving Thanhouser films featuring other stars here:
www.thanhouser.org

 

Click to enlarge:

Florence-La-Badie-and-Richard-Neill-in-The-Woman-in-White-1917-12a

   Florence La Badie and Richard R. Neill

 

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Registration and donation are required to watch the films part of the series 'Hidden Gems'. Please complete the steps in the article 'Gems for Donation' before proceeding.

Registered users who made the required donation please click here to watch this gem.

 

Below is a short preview of the film.