''The Tree of Knowledge'' is a lost 1920 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 ...

produced by

Famous Players–Lasky The Famous Players–Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company formed on June 28, 1916, from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Companyoriginally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Playsan ...

and distributed by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

. It was directed by William C. deMille and starred

Robert Warwick Robert Warwick (born Robert Taylor Bien; October 9, 1878 – June 6, 1964) was an American stage, film and television actor with over 200 film appearances. A matinee idol during the silent film era, he also prospered after the introduction ...

. It is based on an 1897 play, ''The Tree of Knowledge'', by R. C. Carton. In a prologue to the film involving a

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 ...

scene, Yvonne Gardelle appears

nude Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. While estimates vary, for the first 90,000 years of pre-history, anatomically modern humans were naked, having lost their body hair, living in hospitable climates, and no ...

Lilith Lilith (; ), also spelled Lilit, Lilitu, or Lilis, is a feminine figure in Mesopotamian and Jewish mythology, theorized to be the first wife of Adam and a primordial she-demon. Lilith is cited as having been "banished" from the Garden of Eden ...

to tempt

Adam Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam ...

, who was played by dancer

Theodore Kosloff Theodore Kosloff (born Fyodor Mikhailovich Kozlov, ; January 22, 1882 – November 22, 1956) was a Russian-born ballet dancer, choreographer, and film and stage actor. He was occasionally credited as Theodor Kosloff. Career Born in Moscow in ...

. The two actors of the prologue were promoted in print advertisements for the film.

Plot

After living with adventuress Belle (Williams) in Paris, Nigel (Warwick) proposes, but she rejects him for a wealthier suitor. Nigel returns to England, where his friend Brian (Forman) hires him to manage his estate. Nigel falls in love with Brian's ward Monica (Hawley). Brian travels to Paris and meets Belle. Unaware of her past, Brian marries her, and, when they return to England, Belle says nothing when they meet her ex-lover Nigel. Belle, who had only married for money, then discovers that Brian's family is bankrupt, and begins an affair with Roupelle (Cummings). After Nigel discovers that she is planning to elope, he prevents the betrayal, but their prior affair is revealed to Brian. However, Monica forgives him for his transgressions.Exhibitor's Press Book
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Cast

as Adam * Yvonne Gardelle as Lilith *

as Nigel Stanyon * Kathlyn Williams as Belle *

Wanda Hawley Wanda Hawley (born Selma Wanda Pittack; July 30, 1895 – March 18, 1963) was an American actress during the silent film era. She entered the theatrical profession with an amateur group in Seattle, and later toured the United States and Cana ...

as Monica * Tom Forman as Brian *

Winter Hall Winter Amos Hall (21 June 1872 – 10 February 1947) was a New Zealand actor of the silent film, silent era who later appeared in sound films. He performed in more than 120 films between 1916 and 1938. Prior to that, he had a career as a st ...

as Siur Mostyn Hollingsworth *

Irving Cummings Irving Cummings (October 9, 1888 – April 18, 1959) was an American movie actor and director. Career Born in New York City, Cummings started his acting career at age 16 in ''Diplomacy (play), Diplomacy''. His Broadway theatre, Broadway, p ...

as Loftus Roupelle * Loyola O'Connor as Mrs. Stanyon *

Clarence Geldart Clarence Geldart (June 9, 1867 – May 13, 1935) was an American film actor. He appeared in 127 films between 1915 and 1936. He was sometimes credited as C.H. Geldart or Charles H. Geldart. He was born in New Brunswick, Canada, and died i ...

as The Baron *William H. Brown as Swedle

References

External links

*
allmovie/synopsis
at silentfilmstillarchive.com 1920 films American silent feature films Films directed by William C. deMille American films based on plays Lost American drama films 1920 drama films Silent American drama films American black-and-white films 1920 lost films 1920s American films 1920s English-language films English-language drama films Lost silent American films {{1920s-US-film-stub