The American Venus

The American Venus
The American Venus
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Frank Tuttle
Written by	Frederick Stowers (scenario); Robert Benchley (titles)
Story by	Townsend Martin
Starring	Esther Ralston; Ford Sterling; Edna May Oliver; Louise Brooks
Cinematography	J. Roy Hunt
Production; company	Famous Players–Lasky
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	January 31, 1926;
Running time	87 minutes
Country	United States
Language	Silent (English intertitles)

Trailer for the film

The American Venus is a 1926 American silent comedy film directed by Frank Tuttle, and starring Esther Ralston, Ford Sterling, Lawrence Gray, Fay Lanphier, Louise Brooks, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. The film was based on an original story by Townsend Martin. The scenario was written by Frederick Stowers with intertitles by Robert Benchley.^[1]

Plot

As described in a film magazine review,^[2] the daughter of a maker of beauty cream enters and wins a beauty contest in her hometown and then enters the national contest in an effort to save her father from falling into the power of a rival manufacturer, to whose son she is engaged to be married. Through breaking her engagement, discovering her father’s rival in a bribery deal, forming an attachment for the rival’s former exploitation man, and making friends with the winner of the national contest, the girl succeeds in so shaping events that she and her father win on all points.

Cast

Esther Ralston as Mary Gray
Lawrence Gray as Chip Armstrong
Ford Sterling as Hugo Niles
Fay Lanphier as Miss Alabama
Louise Brooks as Miss Bayport
Edna May Oliver as Mrs. Niles
Kenneth MacKenna as Horace Niles
William B. Mack as John Gray
George De Carlton as Sam Lorber
Władysław T. Benda as Artist
Ernest Torrence as King Neptune
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. as Triton
June Elkin as Miss Newark – 1925 contestant (uncredited), also as Fay Lanphier double
Edythe Flynn as Miss San Francisco – 1925 contestant (uncredited)

Production

Before shooting began, the film became the subject of a minor controversy when the New York Graphic, a newspaper known for its use of yellow journalism, claimed that the film's distributor, Paramount Pictures, had "fixed" the Miss America pageant. In a series of articles, the paper claimed that the eventual winner, Fay Lanphier (Miss California), had been chosen before the pageant because she signed on to star in the film before the pageant was held. Paramount publicly admitted it had been involved with the pageant's promotions and had agreed to pay for pageant's reviewing stand. The studio also agreed to sponsor an "American Venus" contest to be held before the Miss America pageant to determine which of the contestants had the best "photographic possibilities". Lanphier won the American Venus title and was chosen by Famous Players–Lasky then production manager Walter Wanger a role in the film.^[3] The New York Graphic was later forced to retract their claim that the contest had been fixed.^[4]

Fay Lanphier was the first Miss America winner to star in a feature film. While the film was a popular draw upon its release and played in theatres for two years after its initial release (mainly due to the heavy publicity and the inclusion of two sequences that were shot in two-strip Technicolor), The American Venus received mixed reviews and Lanphier's contract was dropped.^[5]^[6] The American Venus proved to be more helpful to the careers of star Esther Ralston and Louise Brooks who was cast in a supporting role. Ralston had previously played supporting roles in the silent features Huckleberry Finn and Beggar on Horseback (1925). The success of The American Venus effectively established Ralston's career as a leading lady.^[7] The film also helped to boost Louise Brooks's burgeoning career. It was her first significant role (her first role was small part in 1925's The Street of Forgotten Men) for which she received good reviews.^[8]

Production took place in the fall of 1925, beginning around August 24 and ending around November 10. The film was shot in part in early September at the Miss America beauty pageant on Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and later at Paramount's Famous Players–Lasky's Astoria Studios on Long Island, as well as on the Coney Island boardwalk in Greenwich, Connecticut (in the vicinity of Round Hill and Banksville), and “near a swimming hole” in Ocala, Florida.^[9]^[10]^[11]

The American Venus was privately screened at the Atlantic City Ambassador Hotel as a benefit under the auspices of the Atlantic City Shrine Club on December 26, 1925. A benefit screening of the film also took place at midnight on December 31, 1925 at the American Theater in Oakland, California -- the hometown of star Fay Lanphier. The film premiered on January 11, 1926 at the Stanley Theater, Atlantic City, New Jersey. It officially opened at the Rivoli Theater in New York City on January 24, 1926. The film was copyrighted on January 25, 1926 by Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, and officially released on January 31, 1926.^[12]

Preservation

The film is believed to be lost, although pieces of the film's trailer survive.^[13] In April 2018, three seconds of technicolor footage from the film was discovered by the British Film Institute.^[14]

References

^ "The American Venus". silentera.com. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
^ "New Pictures: The American Venus". Exhibitors Herald. Vol. 23, no. 9. Chicago, Illinois: Exhibitors Herald Company. November 21, 1925. p. 59. Retrieved November 9, 2022. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^ Paris 1989, p. 113.
^ Roberts, Russell; Youmans, Richard (1993). Down the Jersey Shore. Rutgers University Press. p. 85. ISBN 0-813-51996-9.
^ Warwick White, Wendy (2007). Ford Sterling: The Life and Films. McFarland. p. 104. ISBN 978-0-786-48220-7.
^ Watson, Elwood; Martin, Darcy (2004). Watson, Elwood; Martin, Darcy (eds.). "There She Is, Miss America": The Politics of Sex, Beauty, and Race in America's Most Famous Pageant. Macmillan. p. 42. ISBN 1-403-96301-0.
^ Soister, John T. (2012). American Silent Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Feature Films, 1913-1929. McFarland. p. 534. ISBN 978-0-786-48790-5.
^ Paris 1989, pp. 111, 114.
^ The American Venus (filmography page) at Louise Brooks Society. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
^ Paris 1989, p. 111.
^ Eames, John Douglas (1985). The Paramount Story. Crown. p. 38. ISBN 0-517-55348-1..
^ "The American Venus (filmography page)". Louise Brooks Society. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
^ Surviving Pieces of Lost Silent Films on YouTube
^ "BFI finds movie gold of silent era star Louise Brooks". BBC News. Retrieved April 28, 2018.

Sources

Paris, Barry (1989). Louise Brooks (1 ed.). Knopf. ISBN 0-394-55923-1.

External links

The American Venus at IMDb
The American Venus at AllMovie
The American Venus filmography page at Louise Brooks Society
American Venus Trailer with Louise Brooks (1926) on YouTube
Early Technicolor discoveries from the BFI National Archive on YouTube (The American Venus clip with Louise Brooks at 1:03)

[1] "The American Venus". silentera.com. Retrieved November 17, 2022.

[2] "New Pictures: The American Venus". Exhibitors Herald. Vol. 23, no. 9. Chicago, Illinois: Exhibitors Herald Company. November 21, 1925. p. 59. Retrieved November 9, 2022. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

[3] Paris 1989, p. 113.

[4] Roberts, Russell; Youmans, Richard (1993). Down the Jersey Shore. Rutgers University Press. p. 85. ISBN 0-813-51996-9.

[5] Warwick White, Wendy (2007). Ford Sterling: The Life and Films. McFarland. p. 104. ISBN 978-0-786-48220-7.

[6] Watson, Elwood; Martin, Darcy (2004). Watson, Elwood; Martin, Darcy (eds.). "There She Is, Miss America": The Politics of Sex, Beauty, and Race in America's Most Famous Pageant. Macmillan. p. 42. ISBN 1-403-96301-0.

[7] Soister, John T. (2012). American Silent Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Feature Films, 1913-1929. McFarland. p. 534. ISBN 978-0-786-48790-5.

[8] Paris 1989, pp. 111, 114.

[9] The American Venus (filmography page) at Louise Brooks Society. Retrieved November 17, 2022.

[10] Paris 1989, p. 111.

[11] Eames, John Douglas (1985). The Paramount Story. Crown. p. 38. ISBN 0-517-55348-1..

[12] "The American Venus (filmography page)". Louise Brooks Society. Retrieved May 14, 2024.

[13] Surviving Pieces of Lost Silent Films on YouTube

[14] "BFI finds movie gold of silent era star Louise Brooks". BBC News. Retrieved April 28, 2018.

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