Classic Cinema: A Fool There Was (1915)

“Kiss me, my fool!”

Not to be confused with the 1922 silent film of the same name and based upon the same play, 1915’s A Fool There Was is a crucial piece of cinematic history. It is the first starring role for Theda Bara, the woman that most cinephiles consider to be the first cinematic femme fatale, and is also believed to be the source for the term vamp, which is a shortened version of The Vampire, the name of Bara’s character in the film. It also features a very important plot point which I’ll talk about later in this post as it is a spoiler.

In the silent film, a wealthy lawyer billed as John Schuyler, The Husband, is selected to be a diplomat in England. When his wife and daughter must stay behind to take care of his ill sister-in-law, Schuyler is seduced by The Vampire, a woman who charms successful men, enjoys all of their riches, and then leaves them in ruins. She’s fresh off of her last victim, who commits suicide on the deck of the cruise ship headed for England. She nonchalantly tells a crew member to clean up the “mess” of the poor man and then pursues Schuyler. Schuyler falls hard for the Vampire and, despite multiple letters and telegrams, refuses to return to his family. His torrid affair causes an international scandal and he is relieved of his duties. He returns to the United States with the Vampire, who has drained him of his money and his sanity. Can his wife and daughter win him back? What will happen to the Vampire? Watch A Fool There Was and find out!

Bara was simply amazing as The Vampire. She was seductive and beautiful, but sinister and funny at the same time. It’s easy to see why she became a massive silent film star based upon her performance in this film. Edward Jose portrayed Schuyler, and his spiral into foolish lust and, ultimately, total insanity is played with perfection. Mabel Frenyear portrayed The Wife and Runa Hodges played The Daughter. Both of them did excellent jobs. The cast was rounded out by Victor Benoit as One Of The Victims, Clifford Bruce as The Friend, and Minna Gale as The Doctor’s Fiancee. The Doctor was portrayed by Frank Powell. He also wrote the screen adaptation of the original Porter Emerson Browne play that the film is based upon and is often credited as the person that discovered Theda Bara and launched her career. This is also the film debut of May Allison. She portrayed The Wife’s Sister and eventually became a massively popular silent film star in her own right.

Spoiler Alert!!!!! Skip this paragraph if you don’t want to know how the film ends!!!

As mentioned earlier, A Fool There Was is important for a number of reasons. It launched Bara’s career, making her one of the earliest, if not the first, cinematic femme fatale. It also introduced the term “vamp” to describe a woman of questionable morals who bleeds successful men dry. Finally, it’s important due to the fact that the film ends on a sour note. Much like when the Empire wins at the end of The Empire Strikes Back, the Vamp (Bara) walks away from the Schuyler situation completely unscathed, ready to find and seduce her next victim. Schuyler is reunited with his family, but only long enough for them to watch him die a complete wreck. It’s a sad ending to a sad film, and it’s definitely worth checking out. Runa Hodges deserves accolades for her gripping performance as the Daughter as she cries for her father to return and he ignores her by literally turning away from her and looking in the opposite direction as she continues to beg him to come home. It’s an excellent scene and perhaps the best one in the film.

Producer William Fox and writer/actor Frank Powell knew what they had with Bara, and had her appear in a number of publicity shots for the film. In the photos, Bara is scantily clad and shown in a number of poses with a human skeleton. These promotional photos increased interest in the film and in Bara. Fox and Powell also released a fake biography about Bara, claiming that she was an Arabian dancer and a woman full of exotic desires. This fake biography and the photos cemented her place as one of the first sex symbols in film.

I hope that you enjoyed this look back at one of cinema’s most important silent films. Sadly, only six of Theda Bara’s films are known to still be in existence. She appeared in over forty films, most of which were filmed and released between 1915 and 1921. Her final appearance was in the 1926 short, Madame Mystery. Her final full-length feature appearance was in 1925’s The Unchastened Woman.

Thanks for checking out my post! Later this month I’ll be attending Calcasieu Serialfest in Sulphur, LA. Hopefully you will be able to join me at this FREE event!