A Society Exile (1919)
Drama | 17 August 1919
The scenario was based on the 1910 play, We Can't Be as Bad as All That by Henry Arthur Jones. Filming of the screen version was likely completed in early summer 1919, as indicated by an article in the 12 July 1919 Moving Picture World. Production took place at the Famous Players-Lasky studios in Fort Lee, NJ, and on Fifty-Sixth Street in New York City. The latter studio housed a set depicting Venice, Italy, including a canal extending the entire length of the building, with gondolas passing under a replica of the Bridge of Sighs. Also at the site was an Italian palace made of stucco and marble, decorated with antique furniture and tapestries “loaned from private galleries.” The October 1919 Picture-Play revealed that the gondolas were pulled through the canal by three stagehands manning ropes at the front of the water tank. Director George Fitzmaurice hired two young boys off the street and dressed them as grown men to “parade” across the bridge, creating the illusion of distance from the foreground.
A related article in the 16 August 1919 Picture-Play noted that a country cottage was constructed at the Fort Lee facility, “set off by shade trees, lawns, flower gardens and gravel walks.” Interiors for the cottage were represented by sets at the New York City studio. The 20 September 1919 Moving Picture World reported that J. N. Naulty, general manager of the two locations, received “an unsolicited testimonial” from architect Carl A. Ziegler of Philadelphia, PA, commending the company for its art department, headed by architect Robert M. ...
The scenario was based on the 1910 play, We Can't Be as Bad as All That by Henry Arthur Jones. Filming of the screen version was likely completed in early summer 1919, as indicated by an article in the 12 July 1919 Moving Picture World. Production took place at the Famous Players-Lasky studios in Fort Lee, NJ, and on Fifty-Sixth Street in New York City. The latter studio housed a set depicting Venice, Italy, including a canal extending the entire length of the building, with gondolas passing under a replica of the Bridge of Sighs. Also at the site was an Italian palace made of stucco and marble, decorated with antique furniture and tapestries “loaned from private galleries.” The October 1919 Picture-Play revealed that the gondolas were pulled through the canal by three stagehands manning ropes at the front of the water tank. Director George Fitzmaurice hired two young boys off the street and dressed them as grown men to “parade” across the bridge, creating the illusion of distance from the foreground.
A related article in the 16 August 1919 Picture-Play noted that a country cottage was constructed at the Fort Lee facility, “set off by shade trees, lawns, flower gardens and gravel walks.” Interiors for the cottage were represented by sets at the New York City studio. The 20 September 1919 Moving Picture World reported that J. N. Naulty, general manager of the two locations, received “an unsolicited testimonial” from architect Carl A. Ziegler of Philadelphia, PA, commending the company for its art department, headed by architect Robert M. Haas and interior decorator C. O. Cecil. Various sources have included William Cameron Menzies as a member of their team.
The 13 December 1919 Exhibitors Herald noted that teenaged actress Mary Hall played a minor role in the picture. She had recently made her screen debut in Anne of Green Gables (1919, see entry). The 1921 Motion Picture News Studio Directory attributed the romantic lead to veteran actor William T. Carleton, who was sixty years old at the time, while reviews in the 30 August 1919 Motion Picture News and the 6 September 1919 Moving Picture World credited the somewhat younger William P. Carlton.
The National Film Preservation Board (NFPB) included this film on its list of Lost U.S. Silent Feature Films as of February 2021.
In England, American heiress Nora Shard works on a dramatization of her novel with playwright Sir Howard Furnival, but their collaboration is kept a secret from his possessive wife, Lady Doris. While visiting Lady Carnforth, Nora refuses her hostess's worthless brother, Lord Bissett. The vengeful Bissett then convinces Lady Doris that Nora is her husband's mistress, prompting the jealous wife to kill Sir Howard and herself. Nora is ostracized by society and relocates to Venice, Italy, under an assumed name, where she meets Sir Ralph Newell, Lady Furnival's brother, who is recuperating from a war wound. When Sir Ralph declares his love for Nora, she writes him a letter explaining her part in the tragedy. However, the wind blows the letter into a canal and Sir Ralph remains ignorant of Nora’s past. After they wed and return to England, Lord Bissett informs Sir Ralph that he has married the notorious Nora Shard. They separate and Nora flees to Italy, where she gives birth to a son. Sir Ralph later forces the truth from Bissett, resulting in the couple’s ...
In England, American heiress Nora Shard works on a dramatization of her novel with playwright Sir Howard Furnival, but their collaboration is kept a secret from his possessive wife, Lady Doris. While visiting Lady Carnforth, Nora refuses her hostess's worthless brother, Lord Bissett. The vengeful Bissett then convinces Lady Doris that Nora is her husband's mistress, prompting the jealous wife to kill Sir Howard and herself. Nora is ostracized by society and relocates to Venice, Italy, under an assumed name, where she meets Sir Ralph Newell, Lady Furnival's brother, who is recuperating from a war wound. When Sir Ralph declares his love for Nora, she writes him a letter explaining her part in the tragedy. However, the wind blows the letter into a canal and Sir Ralph remains ignorant of Nora’s past. After they wed and return to England, Lord Bissett informs Sir Ralph that he has married the notorious Nora Shard. They separate and Nora flees to Italy, where she gives birth to a son. Sir Ralph later forces the truth from Bissett, resulting in the couple’s reconciliation.
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