''The New Moon'' is a 1919 silent film adventure drama directed by

Chester Withey Chester "Chet" Withey (8 November 1887, Park City, Utah – 6 October 1939, California) was an American silent film actor, Film director, director, and screenwriter. He participated in the production in total of some 100 films. Born in Park Ci ...

and produced by and starring

Norma Talmadge Norma Marie Talmadge (May 2, 1894 – December 24, 1957) was an American actress and film producer of the silent film, silent era. A major box-office draw for more than a decade, her career reached a peak in the early 1920s, when she ranked among ...

, with

Pedro de Cordoba Pedro de Cordoba (September 28, 1881 – September 16, 1950) was an American actor. Biography De Cordoba was born in New York City to parents who were French and Cuban in origin. He was a classically trained theatre actor who confessed h ...

and Charles K. Gerrard.

Plot

Princess Maria Pavlovna (

) is at a grand ball in the palace of the Pavlovnas, given in honor of her engagement to Prince Michail Koloyar (

). Marie reveals a democratic side in her kind treatment of the peasants, and is beloved by them. In the midst of the gaiety, a

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

mob led by Orel Kosloff (

Stuart Holmes Stuart Holmes (born Joseph Liebchen; March 10, 1884 – December 29, 1971) was an American actor and sculptor whose career spanned seven decades. He appeared in almost 450 films between 1909 and 1964, sometimes credited as Stewart Holmes. Biog ...

) invades the palace to ruthlessly kill and plunder, leaving the palace in ruins. Kosloff is actually a tool of an uninvited guest, Theo Kameneff (Charles Gerard), who is only a pretend Red, being paid by a foreign government to ruin Russia. The Prince makes one gallant fight after another to save Marie, and finally succeeds in sending her away in a carriage, but loses track of her as he makes his own escape. Disguising himself as a peasant courier, who is a Red, with access to military centers, he searches for her. Michail is caught and ordered to be shot, but he escapes. She, meanwhile, using her jewels, manages to purchase a grocery store in the village of Volsk, to provide a hideout. She creates the peasant identity of Sonia Sazonoff to run the store as its shopkeeper. By accident, Marie is discovered by the unscrupulous Kameneff, who is now in love with her, though he is unknown to her. He issues a mandate that all females between 17 and 32 must register, and Marie does so under her assumed name, supposing it is for good work. The women are undeceived when they find a second mandate makes them national property at the disposal of men. They appeal to Marie at a moment when Kameneff is within hearing. She says she will make an appeal to Kameneff. Once she is alone with him, he reveals his identity and offers to revoke the order if she will live under his protection. With indomitable spirit, she denies him. Instead, she secretly helps women escape to the border. An orgy of brutality follows. Kosloff rapes potter Vasili Lazoff's (Marc McDermott) daughter. Marie locks Kameneff's sister, Nadia Kameneff (Marguerite Clayton), in a room to keep her away from one of his lustful henchmen. He tries to break open the door with an ax, and Marie grabs a large whip and beats him. He throws the ax, missing her face by inches. He then wrestles her to the floor before being driven off by an ax-wielding Lazoff. Marie is caught aiding women to escape and becomes a candidate for execution. She is arrested and taken to Kameneff's headquarters. Lazoff becomes an instrument of vengeance and chokes the brutal Kosloff to death. Kameneff, meanwhile, has executed a group of women, including his own sister. Michail, despite being told that Marie is Kameneff's mistress, goes to her rescue, and reads her innocence in her eyes. Lazoff holds the pistol that Kameneff uses to commit suicide. Michail and Marie escape across the border, to enjoy new freedom and true happiness, though betrothed under the unlucky full moon (sic, confusing full moon with new moon; but, in the film, only a crescent moon is shown.) [Source: adapted and compiled from various sources at https://web.stanford.edu/~gdegroat/NT/oldreviews/nm.htm#variety, with additional information from Janiss Garza at https://www.allmovie.com/movie/v103825]

Cast

- Princess Marie Pavlovna *

- Prince Michail Koloyar * Charles K. Gerrard - Theo Kameneff *

- Orel Kosloff *

Marc McDermott Marcus McDermott (also credited as Marc MacDermott; 24 July 1871 – 5 January 1929) was an Australian actor who starred on Broadway and in over 180 American films from 1909 until his death.Nick Murphy at the Forgotten Australian Actors webs ...

- Vasili Lazoff * Ethel Kaye - Masha Lazoff * Harry Sothern - Leo Pushkin *

Marguerite Clayton Marguerite Clayton (born Margaret Fitzgerald; April 12, 1891 – December 20, 1968) was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in more than 170 films between 1909 and 1928, many of which were westerns with Broncho Billy Anderson ...

- Nadia Kameneff *

Mathilde Brundage Mathilde Brundage (September 22, 1859 – May 6, 1939) was an American actress. She appeared in 87 films between 1914 and 1928. Also known as Bertha Brundage, she was born in Louisville, Kentucky. For much of her life, her family thwarted her des ...

Preservation status

*The film is preserved incomplete (1 reel missing) in the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation The National Audio-Visual Conservation Center (NAVCC) is a branch of the Library of Congress devoted to preserving the United States' audio-visual history. It includes the Packard Campus (PCAVC), opened in 2007 to store the then entire 6.3 milli ...

collection.The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog:''..The New Moon''
/ref>

Gallery

File:The New Moon (1919) - 7.jpg, alt=, Advertisement for the film in a 1919 '' Exhibitors Herald''. File:The New Moon (1919) - 1.jpg, alt=, Pedro de Cordoba in character, pictured in a 1919 ''Moving Picture World''. File:The New Moon (1919) - 2.jpg, alt=, Still from the film. File:The New Moon (1919) - 5.jpg, alt=, Still from the film published in a 1919 '' Exhibitor's Herald.'' File:The New Moon (1919) - 4.jpg, alt=, Stuart Holmes in character, published in a 1919 ''

Moving Picture World The ''Moving Picture World'' was an influential early trade journal for the American film industry, from 1907 to 1927. An industry powerhouse at its height, ''Moving Picture World'' frequently reiterated its independence from the film studios. ...

.''

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:New Moon (1919 film), The 1919 films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films directed by Chester Withey English-language adventure drama films 1910s adventure drama films Selznick Pictures films 1919 drama films 1910s American films Silent American adventure drama films 1910s English-language films