''Her Sister from Paris'' is a 1925 American silent

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

based upon the play ''The Twin Sister'' by Ludwig Fulda. It was directed by Sidney Franklin and stars

Constance Talmadge Constance Alice Talmadge (April 19, 1898 – November 23, 1973) was an American silent film star. She was the sister of actresses Norma and Natalie Talmadge. Early life Talmadge was born on April 19, 1898 in Brooklyn, New York, to poor p ...

, Ronald Colman, and George K. Arthur. Unlike many

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

s, it is still extant. The film's sets were designed by the art director

William Cameron Menzies William Cameron Menzies (July 29, 1896 – March 5, 1957) was an American film production designer (a job title he invented) and art director as well as a film director and producer during a career spanning five decades. He began his career ...

while the costumes were by

Adrian Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria from the Venetic and Illyrian word ''adur'', meaning "sea" or "water". The Adria was until the 8th century BC the mai ...

, working on his first production.

Plot

As described in a film magazine reviews, Joseph Weyringer, a writer of novels, comes to believe that his wife Helen is too domestic. She interrupts her husband and a quarrel follows. When she leaves him to return to her mother’s, she meets her twin sister at the station. The latter has come to Vienna to dance. An invitation comes to the sister, La Perry, to come to supper after her performance with Joseph whom she has never seen. She accepts, then sends Helen to impersonate her at the supper. Helen is believed to be the dancer by Joseph. She makes love to Joseph and proposes that they elope. He is persuaded to go to the same hotel where they had spent their honeymoon. When they are given the bridal suite, he confesses that he cannot go on because he loves his wife. He is then confronted with his wife (who is really his sister-in-law). Helen is satisfied that her husband still loves her.

Cast

as Helen Weyringer / La Perry * Ronald Colman as Joseph Weyringer * George K. Arthur as Robert Well *

Gertrude Claire Gertrude Claire (July 16, 1852 – April 28, 1928) was an actress of the American stage and Hollywood silent motion pictures. Biography Claire was born in Chicago, Illinois, and began appearing onstage at the age of 16. She played minor roles ...

as Anna, the Housekeeper *

Mario Carillo Mario Caracciolo ''dei Duchi'' di Melito (1883–1958), known professionally as Mario Carillo and in society events as Count The younger sons are not entitled to inherit the hereditary title of their father in the Nobility of Italy. They all usu ...

as The King *

Ellinor Vanderveer Ellinor Vanderveer (August 5, 1886 – May 27, 1976), was an American actress who usually played dowagers, high class society matrons or party guests. She appeared in 111 films between 1924 and 1953, including several Laurel and Hardy come ...

as Theatre Patron

Reception

At that time films in the United States were subject to local censorship, and, after the Chicago Board of Censors initially recommended changes, the chief of the Chicago Police Department denied ''Her Sister from Paris'' a permit. One theater challenged the denial by filing for a writ of mandamus in state court and took a survey of its patrons which favored the showing of the film by a margin of 1000 to 5. In the end, the chief of police issued a permit after an agreement to make 7 changes, 6 of which revised or eliminated

intertitle In films, an intertitle, also known as a title card, is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (i.e., ''inter-'') the photographed action at various points. Intertitles used to convey character dialogue are referred to as "dialo ...

References

Bibliography

* Lea Jacobs. ''The Decline of Sentiment: American Film in the 1920s''. University of California Press, 2008.

External links

* * *Kramer, Fritzi
''Her Sister from Paris'' (1925) A Silent Film Review
at moviessilently.com * (Library of Congress restored print) 1925 films 1926 comedy films 1926 films Silent American comedy films Films directed by Sidney Franklin 1920s English-language films American black-and-white films First National Pictures films Films set in Vienna American films based on plays American silent feature films Films about twin sisters 1925 comedy films 1920s American films {{1920s-silent-comedy-film-stub