A Woman of Paris: A Drama of Fate
About A Woman of Paris: A Drama of Fate
Marie St. Clair and the art student Jean Millet plan to leave their French village for Paris and marry. Her father locks her out. Jean's parents object. She waits at the station while he goes home for his things. His father dies there. Marie, thinking she has been left, takes the train alone. A year later she is the mistress of the rich Pierre Revel. She meets Jean again by chance, has him paint her portrait, and accepts a proposal, then pulls back, sure he offered it in a weak moment. He follows her and Pierre to a cabaret, sees her for the last time, and kills himself.
Cast & crew
More about A Woman of Paris: A Drama of Fate
Charlie Chaplin wrote, produced, and directed. United Artists released it on 26 September 1923. Roland Totheroh and Jack Wilson photographed it. Monta Bell edited. Louis F. Gottschalk and Fritz Stahlberg wrote the original score. For a 1976 reissue Chaplin and Eric James wrote a new score, and Chaplin cut about eight minutes. The Museum of Modern Art premiered that version on 23 December 1976. The U.S. and Canada box office is given as $634,000.
Themes
Background
A 1923 United Artists drama, Chaplin's first feature given over to a serious story rather than his tramp comedies.
Making
Chaplin built the film as a straight drama for Purviance and stayed out of the starring part.
Look
Roland Totheroh and Jack Wilson shot the village departure, the Paris rooms, and the cabaret.
Music
Louis F. Gottschalk and Fritz Stahlberg wrote the score for the 1923 release. Chaplin and Eric James wrote a new score for the 23 December 1976 Museum of Modern Art premiere.
Preservation
The 1923 film survives. Chaplin's shortened cut, with his new score, premiered at the Museum of Modern Art on 23 December 1976. A copy is on Wikimedia Commons.
Notes
- Edna Purviance plays Marie St. Clair. Carl Miller plays Jean Millet. Adolphe Menjou plays Pierre Revel.
- Clarence Geldart plays Marie's father. Lydia Knott plays Jean's mother. Charles K. French plays Jean's father.
- Betty Morrissey plays Fifi. Malvina Polo plays Paulette.
- It is Chaplin's only silent feature in which he does not play a lead. A. Edward Sutherland is also credited on Wikidata.
- Wikidata lists the running time as 84 minutes. Wikipedia's infobox says 82.
Scenes
- Marie waits at the station while Jean's father dies at home.
- She commissions the poor Jean to paint her.
- Jean sees her with Pierre at the cabaret and kills himself.
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (A Woman of Paris, A Drama of Fate (1923) by Charlie Chaplin.webm)
