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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 541

A Fool There Was

191566 minUnited States
Drama
Video edition
YouTube
Original language
No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: English.
This copy runs
66:40
Subtitles
No subtitle track in this language

Languages and subtitles

No subtitle track in this language

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Synopsis

A respected lawyer leaves his wife and daughter for a diplomatic assignment and meets a captivating stranger aboard ship. The relationship gradually consumes his attention, career and family commitments. Attempts to bring him home fail as dependence on the woman replaces the identity and standing he once took for granted.

Cast

DirectorsFrank Powell

Historical context

Theda Bara's role helped establish the screen 'vamp' as a recognisable image of dangerous female attraction. One of relatively few surviving Bara features, the film is a useful record of both her performance and the gender anxieties surrounding that persona.

Sources and availability

General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.

Wikipedia — film referenceDuke Center for the Study of the Public Domain — US term reference

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

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Availability checked on September 10, 2026.

Photograph credit

Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.

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