A Fool There Was

Considering that 1915 was the year of "Birth of a Nation", it is interesting to see what else passed as entertainment for cinema goers that year. "A Fool There Was" is probably the equivalent of your average Sharon Stone epic; lurid, melodramatic and utterly irresistible. This was a star making vehicle for Theda Bara, and though her style seems as remote as the ice age, one can clearly see the strength of her persona. Her appeal to 1915 audiences must have been profound.

The film is primitive even by silent standards. Close ups are stinted upon, the direction is rudimentary. Alone in the cast Bara is worth watching, though I suspect it gives but a glimpse of her full powers. Good fun, if hardly profound entertainment.

There's no question about its imperfections, but "A Fool There Was" is still an interesting melodrama, and it also looks better when considered in the context of its era. The pacing and storytelling are often uneven, but they are not too bad for a time when everyone was still learning how to tell a feature-length story on film. Theda Bara's performance is sometimes exaggerated, but it also contains some very effective moments, and it's not hard to see why she was something of a phenomenon for a time.

The story is relatively simple, with Bara as a 'vamp' who enters the lives of a respected statesman and his family. In general, the story works rather well, resisting the temptation to resort to anything forced or showy. It's driven solely by the strange power that Bara's character can acquire over good-natured but weak-willed males. Similar stories have been used in recent movies, but usually with the addition of a lot of extraneous or indecent material that adds nothing of genuine value.

To be sure, only someone who already enjoys silent movies will be interested in this one. Within just a few years, film-makers would learn many better and more efficient ways of setting up and telling a lengthy story. Bara is also the only performer here whose performance is of particular interest. But there is more than enough here to make it worth seeing if you like the silents.

A Fool There Was (1915) wasn't Theda Bara's first film (The Stain (1914) holds that special honor), but it was her first lead role. It also, I think, sets the template for every other role she played and her entire persona. I say that I think, because while I am familiar with Theda Bara the legend, A Fool There Was is the first and only Theda Bara movie I've watched. Will it be my last? A Fool There Was, directed by Frank Powell and produced by William Fox, centers around The Vampire (Theda Bara) and wealthy lawyer John Schuyler (Edward José) who falls under her seductive spell. In pursuit of this (apparently) irresistible piece of tail, he leaves his loving wife and cherubic child, ruins his successful career, and destroys his health. I believe there's a moral in this story, but it's hard to sympathize with any of these characters. As the wronged wife, Mrs. Schuyler (Mabel Frenyer) just comes off as a self-righteous, judgmental martyr and Schuyler seems too easily swayed by another woman to be as devoted to his wife as the title cards might lead us to believe.

Of course, none of that matters. The real attraction in A Fool There Was is Theda Bara herself. I was prepared to be disappointed by her, mostly because of the disappointment of others. Despite being the designated first sex symbol of the silver screen, the original Vamp as it were, and one of the highest paid actresses of her day, very few of Theda Bara's films exist. Out of more than 40 films, complete prints of only six of her movies remain. While silent film fans will wring hands over the lost Cleopatra, based almost solely on the astounding still photos of Bara in character, the quality of her surviving works suggests it may be no tragic loss.

In A Fool There Was, Theda Bara is confusing to me. She is certainly magnetic, much more so than any of her screen mates. But is she the soul stealing Vampire that the script calls for? I don't think so. Theda Bara was no beauty. She is sensual, with the soulful eyes, fleshy physique, and full lips of a sex pot, but there's a certain vulnerability about her that makes the role an ill fit. In one scene, The Vampire dances about the deck of a steam ship after having driven one man to suicide and just before seducing her next chosen victim. As she swans about, Theda Bara actually makes eye contact with the camera once or twice, and generally looks uncomfortable with all the shimmying. As any good Vamp can tell you, you got to own that stuff and Theda Bara looks like she left the tags on so she could return it if it didn't work out.

Of course, Theda the Vamp is a construct, perhaps one of the earliest examples of a complete movie marketing package. Born Theodosia Burr Goodman, she was really just a good girl from Cincinnati, Ohio. Producer William Fox saw something there, however, and set about constructing an exotic, mysterious persona. She was rechristened Theda Bara, she grew up in the shadows of the Great Pyramid, and came to Hollywood via the French stage, and she was encouraged to discuss the occult and mysticism. Flip through a few publicity shots of her and you'll find snakes, skulls, skeletons, and all manner of occult paraphernalia. She was also costumed in very revealing – keep in mind this is the silent era – get ups. It all added up to sensation.

To see more pictures of Theda Bara, visit my Facebook Photo Album.

For me, in looking at publicity photos of Theda Bara, I still see someone who isn't quite sure about what she's doing there in a snake bra, holding a skull. Theda Bara has large, lovely eyes that even an excess of kohl can hide, and more often than not she's confronting the camera head on. But it's not the mystery of the seductress I see there, but rather a certain confused innocence. There's something tragic in those eyes, and that tragedy is born out by the typecasting that began with A Fool There Was. The Vampire became the Vamp, synonymous with Theda Bara herself.

She did try to branch out of that mold and work on more serious roles. But Theda Bara was worth too much as a wanton woman, and she never really launched that dramatic version of herself. After marrying film director Charles Brabin in 1921, Theda Bara retreated from the spotlight. Hers was a popularity that probably wouldn't not have survived the harsh trials of the late 20′s and early 30′s, but she got out while the getting was good. What we're left with is A Fool There Was and a handful of other vamp roles to judge her by. This movie is worth checking out to see the wicked woman in action. Then you can tease the hype from the reality for yourself.

Theda Bara's films are practically all lost due to a vault fire at Fox in the 1930's. This is the only commercially available film of hers that I am aware, and I found it interesting even if somewhat flawed.

Bara herself is terrific as "The Vampire" and she is so in both known meanings of that word. She seems to be irresistible to every man she sets her sights on while draining them of life or any will of their own. As she sets her sights on wealthy lawyer John Schuyler, we see a beggar in the street who apparently was one of her past victims, and in the present there is young Reginal Parmalee who seems to think of nothing but winning Bara's character back. Nobody seems to be able to pull it together after she's crossed their path. To make her more of a seemingly supernatural dehumanizing force she is given no name - just "the woman".

The best part of this film is her performance and that of Edward Jose as Schulyer. The man literally ages before your eyes and goes from a vital man in the prime of life to a frail looking alcoholic who appears to be in his 60's as he falls prey to "the woman".

What is not so good is that some of the subplots are a bit confusing. In particular, there is quite a bit of correspondence going back and forth between Schulyer, his wife, and his employers, and the letters are shown but the writing is so faded it is difficult to read unless you stop the film and take time to look at the frame. Even then I couldn't make out some of the writing. Also, there are very few title cards, and when one finally does appear it is usually quite verbose. Finally, there is lots of time spent with Schulyer and his wife and child at home before he ever meets "the woman". This is obviously present to show how good Schulyer had it and what it was he was throwing away for a temporary thrill, but it just goes on a bit too long.

However, overall I enjoyed it and it will keep you guessing up to the end exactly what is going to happen.

Theda Bara plays The Vampire in this early film about a man who gets whisked away from his loving family by a seductress.

This isn't a brilliant film, I have to admit. A lot of it doesn't quite work so well.

I'll start with Bara, who is the main reason to watch. As soon as she appears on-screen, you get an idea of why she was such a star.

A fabulous presence throughout, she sells her role so well with the little things. Like how, when a man pulls a gun on her, she smiles at him, her body showing no fear whatsoever. Instead, she taunts him, and we don't need titles to tell us this.

It's a terrible shame so much of her work was lost. And that Hollywood was so awful to her, for her talents could surely have made her a star - had the studios been willing to help her instead of dropping her immediately.

As for the rest of the film, it is messy, at best. None of the other actors are very good. They seem on the level of very amateur dramatics, and you can hardly tell what they're doing, were it not for the inter-titles.

The direction and staging is almost non-existent, with overcrowded, messy shots that don't convey any emotion. It gives the whole film the feel of a home movie someone shot, interesting only for the period which it is in.

I realise a lot of this can be put down to how early the film is. The crew were still coming to grips to with the technology, and they would learn fast.

There are a few really well composed shots, but they are not in service of anything. They're there to look pretty.

Bara manages to take control of the screen when she's on it. Holding attention and actually acting with her entire being, much like Lon Chaney used to do. No one else in the cast does this.

The wife is ineffectual. The brother is just a man. The sister an idiot that falls out of a car for some reason I still don't quite understand.

All this leads to a somewhat listless film. Any scene in which Bara is absent may as well be skipped, for it is either of the wife being sad or the child playing with the butler. Visual storytelling is wholly absent.

All in all, see it for Bara alone, but don't be surprised if the rest of the picture doesn't live up to expectations

I also find it entertaining how The Fool is ostracised from society for having a mistress, when I am sure that he would be perfectly fine. A rich man taking a mistress would hardly have led to his servants quitting or a decline in his social standing. His wife and mistress would surely have suffered, but the man would have been fine.