Âmes à vendre

Original title: Souls for Sale

1923
Passed
1h 30m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Eleanor Boardman in Âmes à vendre (1923)

Farce Romantic Comedy Comedy Drama Romance

A young woman hits Hollywood, determined to become a star.A young woman hits Hollywood, determined to become a star.A young woman hits Hollywood, determined to become a star.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

1.2K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win total

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Comédiennes

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
The character of Owen Scudder, played by Lew Cody, may have been inspired by a real life bigamist and serial killer James 'Bluebeard' Watson (1870-1939). Watson traveled the United States under several aliases, marrying 19 different women between 1918 and 1920 and murdering at least nine of them for financial gain. He was apprehended in April, 1920, in Los Angeles.

Goofs
In the movie theatre in Egypt, veiled women are shown sitting with men. This would not have been permitted.

Quotes
Remember 'Mem' Steddon: Are you real or a--mirage?
Tom Holby: Neither. I'm a movie actor.

Alternate versions
In 2006, Turner Entertainment Co. copyrighted a 90-minute version with a score composed by Marcus Sjowall and conducted by Mark Watters.

Connections
Edited into Hollywood: Autocrats (1980)

Classic story told with little flair

For a modern audience, Souls for Sale (1923) is nothing we have not seen before. It's the small-town girl becomes big star overnight story, with healthy helpings of romantic melodrama thrown in. It's a story that can be done well, but here it's done with little to distinguish it from other movies of its kind.

Eleanor Boardman, a truly underrated talent, does well in the lead, with all the other actors giving solid performances. Silent film mavens will enjoy the topical humor and cameos of famous directors and stars of the early 1920s. (My favorite inter-title takes a jab at The Sheik (1921), a masterpiece of old time kitsch.) In the end, silent film geeks will get more out of this than casual viewers will.