The Dumb Girl of Portici

The Dumb Girl of Portici
Anna Pavlova (center foreground)
Directed by	Phillips Smalley Lois Weber
Written by	Germain Delavigne (opera) Eugène Scribe (opera) Lois Weber
Produced by	Carl Laemmle
Starring	Anna Pavlova Rupert Julian Wadsworth Harris
Cinematography	Dal Clawson Allen G. Siegler
Production company	Universal Film Manufacturing Company
Distributed by	Universal Film Manufacturing Company
Release date	April 3, 1916 (1916-04-03)
Running time	112 minutes
Country	United States
Language	Silent (English intertitles)

The Dumb Girl of Portici is a 1916 American silent historical drama film directed by Phillips Smalley and Lois Weber and starring Anna Pavlova, Rupert Julian and Wadsworth Harris.^[1] It was adapted by Weber from the libretto by Germain Delavigne and Eugène Scribe for Daniel Auber's 1828 opera La muette de Portici (The Mute of Portici). The film marked Pavlova's only feature film performance.

Overview[]

The film was one of the most expensive film made at a cost at approximately $300,000. The film was the first major film directed by a woman director in the early 1910s. ^[2]

Plot[]

Fenella (Anna Pavlova) is a poor Italian girl who falls in love with Duke d'Arcos (Wadsworth Harris), a Spanish nobleman. ^[3]

Cast[]

• Anna Pavlova as Fenella
• Rupert Julian as Masaniello
• Wadsworth Harris as Duke d'Arcos
• Douglas Gerrard as Alphonso
• Jack Holt as Conde
• Betty Schade as Isabella
• Edna Maison as Elvira
• Jack Hoxie as Perrone
• William Wolbert as Pietro
• Laura Oakley as Rilla
• Nigel De Brulier as Father Francisco
• Lina Basquette as Child

Release[]

The film was released on DVD/Blu-ray in 2018 with a new score by John Sweeney.^[4]

See also[]

• The Mute of Portici (1922)
• The Mute of Portici (1952)

References[]

Bibliography[]

• Slide, Anthony. Early Women Directors. A. S. Barnes, 1977.

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Dumb Girl of Portici.

• The Dumb Girl of Portici at IMDb
• The Dumb Girl of Portici at silentera.com