''The Venus Model'' is a 1918 American silent

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typic ...

film starring

Mabel Normand Amabel Ethelreid Normand (November 9, 1893 – February 23, 1930), better known as Mabel Normand, was an American silent film actress, screenwriter, director, and producer. She was a popular star and collaborator of Mack Sennett in their K ...

and directed by

Clarence G. Badger Clarence G. Badger (June 9, 1880 – June 17, 1964) was an American film director of feature films in the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s. His films include '' It'' and ''Red Hair'', more than a dozen features and shorts starring Will Rogers, and two feat ...

. The film was made at the beginning of the 20th century when

Goldwyn Pictures Goldwyn Pictures Corporation was an American motion picture production company that operated from 1916 to 1924 when it was merged with two other production companies to form the major studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was founded on November 19, 1 ...

and many early

film studio A film studio (also known as movie studio or simply studio) is a major entertainment company or motion picture company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to make films, which is handled by the production ...

s in

America's first motion picture industry Fort Lee is a borough at the eastern border of Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated along the Hudson River atop the Palisades. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 40,191. As of the 2010 U.S. census, ...

were based in

Fort Lee, New Jersey Fort Lee is a borough at the eastern border of Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated along the Hudson River atop the Palisades. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 40,191. As of the 2010 U.S. census, ...

. It is not known whether the film currently survives, and it may be a

lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy ...

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 ...

, Kitty O'Brien (Normand), a seamstress in the factory of Braddock & Co., in an effort to escape punishment from the foreman she had mimicked, flees into the manager's office. While explaining her presence she shows a bathing suit she has designed, John Braddock (Francis) embraces the idea and the display of the suit brings orders galore. When Braddock is compelled to take a rest, Kitty takes charge of the plant. She gives a young male applicant a job as office boy, but discovers he is the son of her employer, Paul Braddock (La Rocque), expelled from college. She frees him from an indiscreet love affair and, with the return of the elder Braddock, a romance is culminated.

Cast

as Kitty O'Brien *

Rod La Rocque Roderick Ross La Rocque (November 29, 1898 – October 15, 1969) was an American actor. Biography La Rocque was born in Chicago, Illinois to Edmund La Rocque and Ann (née Rice) La Rocque. His father was of French-Canadian descent and his mo ...

as Paul Braddock * Alec B. Francis as John Braddock *

Alfred Hickman Alfred Hickman (25 February 1873 – 9 April 1931) was an English actor. He was married to actress Nance O'Neil. He appeared in 35 films between 1914 and 1931. Selected filmography * '' Are You a Mason?'' (1915) * ''A Woman's Past'' (191 ...

as Nathan Bergman *

Edward Elkas Edward Elkas (February 8, 1862 – December 17, 1933) was an American film actor of the silent era. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1911 and 1926. He was born in New York City. On Broadway, Elkas portrayed a headwaiter in ''A Tale of ...

as Briggs * Edward Boulden as Bagley *

Albert Hackett Albert Maurice Hackett (February 16, 1900 – March 16, 1995) was an American actor, dramatist and screenwriter most noted for his collaborations with his partner and wife Frances Goodrich. Early years Hackett was born in New York City, the so ...

as Boy * Una Trevelyn as Hattie Fanshawe * Nadia Gary as 'Dimples' Briggs

Reception

Like many American films of the time, ''The Venus Model'' was subject to restrictions and cuts by city and state film censorship boards. For example, the Chicago Board of Censors cut, in Reel 4, the intertitle "Well, you be at my apartment tonight and dig up $10,000".

References

External links

''The Venus Model''
in the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

* 1918 films 1918 romantic comedy films American romantic comedy films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Goldwyn Pictures films Films shot in Fort Lee, New Jersey Films directed by Clarence G. Badger 1910s American films Silent romantic comedy films Silent American comedy films {{1910s-US-film-stub