Priscilla Dean-Wheeler Oakman in The Virgin of Stamboul

''The Virgin of Stamboul'' is a 1920 American silent

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Tod Browning Tod Browning (born Charles Albert Browning Jr.; July 12, 1880 – October 6, 1962) was an American film director, film actor, screenwriter, vaudeville performer, and carnival sideshow and circus entertainer. He directed a number of films of vari ...

and starring husband and wife team

Priscilla Dean Priscilla Dean (November 25, 1896 – December 27, 1987) was an American actress popular in silent film as well as in theatre, with a career spanning two decades. Biography She was born on November 25, 1896 in Manhattan, New York City to an activ ...

and

Wheeler Oakman Wheeler Oakman (born Vivian Eichelberger; February 21, 1890 – March 19, 1949) was an American film actor. Early years Oakman was born as Vivian Eichelberger in Washington, D.C., and educated in that city's schools. He grew up in Fairfax, Vir ...

and featuring

Wallace Beery Wallace Fitzgerald Beery (April 1, 1885 – April 15, 1949) was an American film and stage actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in '' Min and Bill'' (1930) opposite Marie Dressler, as General Director Preysing in '' Grand Hotel'' ( ...

in a supporting role.

Plot

Based upon a review in a film publication, Sari (Dean) is a beggar girl of the streets of Stamboul, near Constantinople, who attracts the attention of Captain Pemberton (Oakman), a soldier of fortune, who has recruited the Black Horse cavalry to maintain law and order. Sari overhears him being told that her soul is as filthy as the streets, so she goes to pray in a mosque although she knows Turkish women are not allowed to enter. There she witnesses a revenge murder by a sheik (Beery), who then attempts to lure her into his harem. She defies him, and he then tries to purchase her. Pemberton returns from the desert and has determined that he loves Sari. The sheik then carries both Pemberton and Sari to his fortified camp outside the city walls. Sari escapes and gets the Black Horse cavalry to attack the camp, resulting in a battle and rescue.

Cast

as Sari *

as Capt. Carlisle Pemberton *

as Ahmed Hamid (segment "Achmet Bey") * Clyde Benson as Diplomat * E. Alyn Warren as Yusef Bey *

Nigel De Brulier Nigel De Brulier (born Francis George Packer; 8 August 1877 – 30 January 1948) was an English stage and film actor who began his career in the United Kingdom before relocating to the United States. Biography De Brulier was born in Frenchay, a ...

as Capt. Kassari *

Edmund Burns Edmund Burns (September 27, 1892 – April 2, 1980 ) was an American actor. He was best known for his films of the silent 1920s, particularly ''The Princess from Hoboken'' (1927), '' Made for Love'' (1926), and ''After the Fog'' (1929), althoug ...

as Hector Baron *

Eugenie Forde Eugenie Forde (June 22, 1879 – September 5, 1940) was an American silent film actress. She starred in 73 films between 1912 and 1927 in films such as ''The Diamond from the Sky'' (1915) and '' Wives and Other Wives'' with actors such ...

as Sari's Mother * Ethel Ritchie as Resha

Production

Universal Studios

Carl Laemmle Carl Laemmle (; born Karl Lämmle; January 17, 1867 – September 24, 1939) was a film producer and the co-founder and, until 1934, owner of Universal Pictures. He produced or worked on over 400 films. Regarded as one of the most important o ...

provided director Tod Browning with ample resources to create an authentic replica of

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

that featured “bazaars, harems, the desert, and elaborate costuming.”

Marketing

To market the film,

Harry Reichenbach Harry Reichenbach (1882 – 1931) was a US press agent and publicist who staged sensational publicity stunts to promote films. He was one of the founding members of the Associated Motion Picture Advertisers. Biography Born in Frostburg, Maryla ...

in a

publicity stunt In marketing, a publicity stunt is a planned event designed to attract the public's attention to the event's organizers or their cause. Publicity stunts can be professionally organized, or set up by amateurs. Such events are frequently utilize ...

had a "sheik" from Constantinople with his entourage check into the Majestic Hotel in New York City on March 7, 1920. Newspapers carried the story of his visit looking for an American heiress who had left with a marine just as the first teaser ads for the film were being published. Several ads noted the film's reported production budget of $500,000.

Footnotes

References

*Rosenthal, Stuart. 1975. ''Tod Browning: The Hollywood Professionals, Volume 4.'' The Tantivy Press. * Sobchack, Vivian. 2006. ''The Films of Tod Browning: An Overview Long Past in The Films of Tod Browning'' in The Films of Tod Browning, editor Bernd Herzogenrath, 2006 Black Dog Publishing. London. pp. 21–39.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Virgin of Stamboul, The 1920 films 1920 drama films Silent American adventure drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films directed by Tod Browning Universal Pictures films 1920s American films 1920s adventure drama films English-language adventure drama films 1920s English-language films