Zaza
About Zaza
Zaza (Gloria Swanson) is the favorite of an open-air theater in a small French town. Diplomat Bernard Dufresne (H. B. Warner) keeps his distance, afraid he will fall for her. During a number on a swing, a rival cuts the rope and Zaza falls. While she is hurt she meets him. He sets her up in a villa. The affair breaks when his wife appears.
Cast & crew
More about Zaza
Allan Dwan directed and produced. Harold Rosson photographed it at Paramount's Astoria Studios. The source is the 1899 French play by Pierre Berton and Charles Simon, which David Belasco produced on Broadway with Mrs. Leslie Carter. Paramount had already filmed it in 1915 with Pauline Frederick. George Cukor's 1939 version starred Claudette Colbert. The English Wikipedia gives 84 minutes and a release of 16 September 1923. Wikidata lists 66 minutes and 21 October 1923.
Themes
Background
Paramount's second film of the Belasco play, made at the Astoria studio in 1923, between the 1915 Frederick version and the 1939 Colbert version.
Making
The company shot it at Paramount's Astoria Studios in New York.
Preservation
Prints are held at the George Eastman House and the Library of Congress. A copy is on Wikimedia Commons.
Notes
- Ferdinand Gottschalk, Lucille La Verne, Mary Thurman, and Yvonne Hughes are in the cast.
- Prints are at the George Eastman House and the Library of Congress.
- Wikidata's date is 21 October 1923, and its running time is 66 minutes.
Scenes
- A rival cuts the swing rope and Zaza falls.
- Dufresne's wife arrives at the villa.
Influenced by
- Pierre Berton and Charles Simon's play Zaza (1899)
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (Zaza (1923).webm)
