''The Real Adventure'' is a 1922 American silent

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

King Vidor King Wallis Vidor (; February 8, 1894 – November 1, 1982) was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter whose 67-year film-making career successfully spanned the silent and sound eras. His works are distinguished by a vivid, ...

, based on the best-selling novel by Henry Kitchell Webster that was serialized in 1915 and published as a book in 1916. A print of the film is held by the Cinémathèque de Toulous. In February 2020, the film was shown at the

70th Berlin International Film Festival The 70th annual Berlin International Film Festival took place from 20 February to 1 March 2020. It was the first under the leadership of new Berlin Film Festival heads, business administration director Mariette Rissenbeek and artistic director C ...

, as part of a retrospective dedicated to King Vidor's career.

Plot

As described in a

film magazine Film periodicals combine discussion of individual films, genres and directors with in-depth considerations of the medium and the conditions of its production and reception. Their articles contrast with film reviewing in newspapers and magazines whi ...

, impetuous and headstrong Rose Stanton (Vidor) accidentally meets famous attorney Rodney Aldrich (Fillmore) when a conductor rudely accosts her for her streetcar fare. It is

love at first sight Love at first sight is a personal experience as well as a common trope in literature: a person or character feels an instant, extreme, and ultimately long-lasting romantic attraction for a stranger upon first seeing that stranger. Described by p ...

and, after a brief courtship, they are married. Rose becomes cross at Rodney while on their honeymoon at his mountain lodge when he studies from a law book for an hour. He saves her after she dashes out into a snow storm. Back home, after her husband ridicules her for attempting to study law, she determines to leave him and, using the name Doris Dane, she becomes famous in New York City as the designer of stage dresses. Her husband follows her to the city and, following a reconciliation, they have a complete understanding. The film ends as a child arrives at the Aldrich residence and the real adventure begins.

Cast

Florence Vidor Florence Vidor (née Cobb, later Arto; July 23, 1895 – November 3, 1977) was an American silent film actress. Early life Vidor was born in Houston on July 23, 1895, to John and Ida Cobb. Her parents had married in Houston on March 3, 1894, bu ...

as Rose Stanton *

Clyde Fillmore Clyde Fillmore (October 25, 1874''Who Was Who on Screen''Silent Film Necrology'' p.170 2nd Edition by Eugene M. Vazzana c.2001 – December 19, 1946), born Clyde Fogle, was an American actor of stage and screen. He is best remembered for a 1 ...

as Rodney Aldrich * Nellie Peck Saunders as Mrs. Stanton * Lilyan McCarthy as Portia * Philip Ryder as John Walbraith

Theme

Film historian John Baxter identifies ''The Real Adventure'' (as well as his Woman, Wake Up, also from 1922, as early feminist films: “ oth filmshave earned a place in the history of feminist cinema with their picture of a woman struggling to succeed in a male society. In ''Woman, Wake Up'', Florence Vidor becomes involved in society to please her husband and is so successful at it that he becomes jealous, while in The Real Adventure, she is transformed after her marriage to a wealthy husband: she studies law, goes on stage as a chorus girl, designs costumes, opens a salon but realizes home and family must come first” Baxter 1976, p. 14

Footnotes

References

*Baxter, John. 1976. ''King Vidor''. Simon & Schuster, Inc. Monarch Film Studies. LOC Card Number 75-23544.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Real Adventure 1920s American films 1920s feminist films 1922 films 1922 drama films American black-and-white films American silent feature films Associated Exhibitors films Films directed by King Vidor Silent American drama films 1920s English-language films