''Queen of the Sea'' is a 1918 American silent fantasy film released by

Fox Film Corporation The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American Independent film production studio formed by William Fox (1879–1952) in 1915, by combining his earlier Greater New York Film Rental Company and Box Office Attractions Film C ...

that was directed by John G. Adolfi and starred Australian swimmer

Annette Kellerman Annette Marie Sarah Kellermann (6 July 1887 – 6 November 1975) was an Australian professional swimmer, vaudeville star, film actress, and writer. Kellermann was one of the first women to wear a one-piece bathing costume, instead of the then ...

. This film is presumed to be

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

Plot

As described in the trade magazine '' Exhibitors Herald'':

Merilla, Queen of the Sea, finds a book among wreckage at the bottom of the sea which contains a prophesy that she will save four human beings and then receive the reward of a human body of her own with an immortal soul. King Boreas (Law), master of the storms, wrecks many ships and sends his
sirens Siren or sirens may refer to: Common meanings * Siren (alarm), a loud acoustic alarm used to alert people to emergencies * Siren (mythology), an enchanting but dangerous monster in Greek mythology Places * Siren (town), Wisconsin * Siren, Wisco ...
to drag the victims to certain death. Merilla saves the predicted lives, and Boreas confines her in a cave. She is freed by Prince Hero, the fourth life she has saved, who is on his way to meet his betrothed. They fall in love with each other, but Ariela tells them that they must be unselfish. The Prince goes on to meet the Princess, who is really in love with one of her courtiers. Boreas captures the Princess and confines her in the Tower of Knives and Swords, a worse dungeon than the one in which Merilla had been confined. Merilla has received a human body and such a beautiful soul that she resolves to rescue the Princess, even though this will mean the loss of the Prince. She goes to the Tower and reaches the Princess, encourages her, and then walks out on a spider's thread to a point where she can warn the Prince of the great danger. He and his knights come just in time to save them from a horrible fate. The Princess confesses her love for the courtier, and the two couples are then happy in possession of each other.

Cast

Production

''Queen of the Sea'' followed Fox's big budget picture '' A Daughter of the Gods'', another fantasy spectacle designed around Annette Kellerman and her aquatic abilities. Kellerman was well known for stunt dives; at least one high dive was incorporated in the plot of ''Queen'' as well as a tight-rope walk, both executed by Kellerman herself. After ''Queen of the Sea'' Kellerman would only make two more major motion pictures. Cast and crew spent two months in 1917 filming on

Mount Desert Island Mount Desert Island (MDI; french: Île des Monts Déserts) in Hancock County, Maine, is the largest island off the coast of Maine. With an area of it is the 52nd-largest island in the United States, the sixth-largest island in the contiguous ...

in Maine; additional exterior shots were filmed in Bermuda, Jamaica, Florida, Mexico, and California.

Panchromatic film Panchromatic emulsion is a type of black-and-white photographic emulsion that is sensitive to all wavelengths of visible light. Description A panchromatic emulsion renders a realistic reproduction of a scene as it appears to the human eye, alth ...

, which provided superior tonal quality but had a problematically short shelf life, was first used in motion pictures for some of the exterior shots on ''Queen of the Sea''.

References

External links

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Several film stills
Jonathan Silent Film Collection, Frank Mt. Pleasant Library Special Collections, Chapman University {{John G. Adolfi 1918 films 1910s fantasy films 1910s English-language films American black-and-white films American fantasy films American romantic drama films American silent feature films Lost American films Films about mermaids 20th Century Fox films 1918 lost films Lost fantasy films 1910s American films Silent romantic drama films Silent horror films Silent American drama films