''The Sin Woman'' is a lost 1917 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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

starring

Irene Fenwick Irene Fenwick (born Irene Frizell; September 5, 1887 – December 24, 1936) was an American stage and silent film actress. She was married to Lionel Barrymore from 1923 until her death in 1936. Fenwick has several surviving feature films fr ...

as a vamp, the period slang for a

femme fatale A ( , ; ), sometimes called a maneater, Mata Hari, or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and Seduction, seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype ...

. The trailer for it still survives.

Plot

As described in a film magazine, the film begins with

Eve Eve is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop through oral traditions and there ...

being tempted in the

Garden of Eden In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden (; ; ) or Garden of God ( and ), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the biblical paradise described in Genesis 2–3 and Ezekiel 28 and 31.. The location of Eden is described in the Book of Ge ...

, followed by the antecedents of the main character being tried and convicted for vampire work at various times. Which leads to a beautiful young woman, Grace Penrose (Fenwick), who due to her heredity leads the life of a vampire. She tires of the city life and heads for her lodge in the mountains. High up on the trail the sleigh she is riding in overturns and she is thrown in the snow. She is found by a young man, John Winthrop (Bruce), who is happily married. The young vampire becomes infatuated with him and is determined to win him, and when she finds out that he is married she wants him even more. The man leaves his wife Beth (Davies) and tells her why he is doing so. The wife says nothing, but after he leaves she tells her troubles to the female mayor, who also runs a hotel. As the son of the mayor had also been trifled with by the woman, she is anxious for revenge. The townspeople gather up some feathers and tar and head over to the lodge. As Grace is taken by the villagers to be

tarred and feathered Tarring and feathering is a form of public torture where a victim is stripped naked, or stripped to the waist, while wood tar (sometimes hot) is either poured or painted onto the person. The victim then either has feathers thrown on them or is ...

, while the husband begs for forgiveness, which is granted.

Cast

- Grace Penrose *

Clifford Bruce Clifford Bruce (1885–1919) was a Canadian film actor of the silent era.Solomon p. 229 Selected filmography * ''When Rome Ruled'' (1914) * ''A Fool There Was'' (1915) * ''Lady Audley's Secret'' (1915) * ''A Woman's Past'' (1915) * '' The Weaknes ...

- John Winthrop *

Reine Davies Reine Davies (born Irene Douras; June 6, 1883 – April 5, 1938) was an American singer and actress. Life and career Davies was born on June 6, 1883, in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Bernard J. Douras, a lawyer and judge in New York City; ...

- Beth Winthrop *George Morgan - Dan Pratt *Sara McVickar - Mrs. Pratt *

Wellington Playter Wellington A. Playter (9 December 1879 – 15 July 1937) was an English actor. He appeared in 43 films between 1913 and 1921. Selected filmography ''(Note:* means that he was credited as Wellington Playter)'' * '' The Daughter of the Hills' ...

- Driver *Little Joan - Baby Winthrop

References

Preservation

The

National Film Preservation Foundation The National Film Preservation Foundation (NFPF) is an independent, nonprofit organization created by the U.S. Congress to help save America's film heritage. Growing from a national planning effort led by the Library of Congress, the NFPF began o ...

states this film coming from 1922 with a question mark, while other sources claim this film being released in 1917.

External links

* 1917 films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Lost American drama films 1917 drama films Silent American drama films Tarring and feathering in the United States 1917 lost films English-language drama films 1910s American films 1910s English-language films Lost silent American films {{1910s-drama-film-stub