In a newspaper's office, Dorothy Davenport (aka Mrs. Wallace Reid) opens a bound volume and looks up the tragic 1917 story of Gabrielle Darley. The "beautiful, almost child-like girl" suffered an unfortunate tragedy, Mrs. Reid explains. Next we flashback to New Orleans and meet this story's unlikely heroine, pretty Priscilla Bonner (as Gabrielle). She sighs sadly because the man she loves, Carl Miller (as Howard Blaine), has gone to Los Angeles with another woman. Prompting the tragedy in the newspaper story, Ms. Bonner goes to Los Angeles and confronts Mr. Miller. Additional flashbacks show Bonner had an unhappy childhood and was lured into prostitution by Miller...
Self-serving socialite Virginia Pearson (as Beverly Fontaine) helps our heroine. Bonner may find true love, at last, with the older woman's chauffeur Theodore von Eltz (as Terrance "Freddy" O'Day). But her sordid past threatens their happiness.
This B&W feature uses red in a few scenes, mostly to symbolize shameful sex. The first touch of red is startling when it appears on Bonner's Kimona. We also see a red "A" on Bonner's chest, which we is meant to associate her with Hester Prynne from Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter". The color is most often shines in the film's "red light district" (for prostitutes)...
"The Red Kimona" is otherwise notable as director Walter Lang's first film. Still, Ms. Davenport is the main filmmaker. She was the widow of beloved box-office star Wallace Reid, who died in 1923 due to the aftereffects of a train crash. His name was still a draw; and, herein, Davenport uses the bold credit "Mrs. Wallace Reid". Bonner is expressive in close-ups and Mr. Von Eltz is charming as the chauffeur. Their courtship scenes are a highlight for the cast and crew. However, considering the lurid topic, "The Red Kimona" is remarkably sluggish and hesitating. In an unfortunate postscript, the real Gabrielle Darley sued Mrs. Wallace Reid for a small fortune and won her case.
*** The Red Kimona (1925-11-16) Walter Lang ~ Priscilla Bonner, Theodore von Eltz, Dorothy Davenport, Carl Miller
Self-serving socialite Virginia Pearson (as Beverly Fontaine) helps our heroine. Bonner may find true love, at last, with the older woman's chauffeur Theodore von Eltz (as Terrance "Freddy" O'Day). But her sordid past threatens their happiness.
This B&W feature uses red in a few scenes, mostly to symbolize shameful sex. The first touch of red is startling when it appears on Bonner's Kimona. We also see a red "A" on Bonner's chest, which we is meant to associate her with Hester Prynne from Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter". The color is most often shines in the film's "red light district" (for prostitutes)...
"The Red Kimona" is otherwise notable as director Walter Lang's first film. Still, Ms. Davenport is the main filmmaker. She was the widow of beloved box-office star Wallace Reid, who died in 1923 due to the aftereffects of a train crash. His name was still a draw; and, herein, Davenport uses the bold credit "Mrs. Wallace Reid". Bonner is expressive in close-ups and Mr. Von Eltz is charming as the chauffeur. Their courtship scenes are a highlight for the cast and crew. However, considering the lurid topic, "The Red Kimona" is remarkably sluggish and hesitating. In an unfortunate postscript, the real Gabrielle Darley sued Mrs. Wallace Reid for a small fortune and won her case.
*** The Red Kimona (1925-11-16) Walter Lang ~ Priscilla Bonner, Theodore von Eltz, Dorothy Davenport, Carl Miller