Soul-Fire

{{short description|1925 film}} {{for|the 2004 album Soul Fire|Selina Toyomasu}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2020}} {{Infobox film | name = Soul-Fire | image = Soul Fire poster.jpg | alt = Vintage illustrated film poster showing a man and woman embracing amid pink flowers | caption = Film poster | director = John S. Robertson | producer = Richard Barthelmess | based_on = {{based on|''Great Music'' (play)<ref>{{cite book|title=Great Music|first=Martin|last=Brown|others=music by C. Linn Seiler|oclc=44633591}}</ref>|Martin Brown|C. Linn Seiler (music)}} | writer = Josephine Lovett (scenario) | starring = {{Plainlist| * Richard Barthelmess * Bessie Love }} | music = | cinematography = Roy Overbaugh | editing = William Hamilton | studio = Inspiration Pictures | distributor = First National Pictures | released = {{Film date|1925|05|03|U.S.}} | runtime = 9 reels; 8,262 feet<ref name="filmdaily3134newy" /> | country = United States | language = Silent (English intertitles) }}

'''''Soul-Fire''''' (also known as '''''Soul Fire''''')<ref name="filmdaily3134newy" /><ref name="pictureplaymagaz23unse-n359" /><ref name="pictureplaymagaz23unse-n375" /> is a 1925 American silent drama film starring Richard Barthelmess and Bessie Love. It was directed by John S. Robertson and was based on the Broadway production ''Great Music'' (1924) by Martin Brown.<ref name="ibdb">{{cite web|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/great-music-9590|title=''Great Music''|website=Internet Broadway Database|quote=''Soul-Fire'' produced on Broadway as ''Great Music'' (1924) at the Earl Carroll Theatre, October 4, 1924 – November 1924, 44 performances}}</ref>

The film was funded by Barthelmess through his Inspiration Pictures and released by First National Pictures.

thumb|Full film

==Plot== Eric Fane (Barthelmess) leaves New York City to study music composition in Italy, defying his father's wishes that he return home and enter the business world. Encouraged by a sophisticated older woman, Eric travels to Paris, where he falls for a Russian princess. He begins composing popular songs that achieve commercial success, funding a lavish lifestyle. However, Eric grows weary of writing trivial music and dedicates himself to serious composition. The change leaves him in poverty, which the princess will not tolerate, and she abandons him.

Eric drifts to Port Said, where he works as a pianist in a disreputable dancehall. After getting into a brawl with an intoxicated sailor, Eric shoots the man and takes on his identity. A sympathetic woman helps Eric escape aboard a vessel headed for the South Seas. Upon arrival, he deserts the ship and is discovered by Teita (Love), an orphaned English woman living alone.

Eric and Teita fall in love and arrange to wed in a native ceremony. The night before their wedding, Eric notices a mark on her shoulder that he fears may be leprosy. Alarmed, he summons a Christian doctor. During the agonizing wait, Eric channels his emotions into composing a great concerto, finally achieving the artistic breakthrough he has sought throughout his travels. The doctor arrives and reassures them that Teita's condition is not leprosy.

Eric's composition is later performed at a concert in London to widespread acclaim. The performance is structured around flashbacks depicting Eric's tumultuous journey.<ref name="filmdaily3134newy">{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/filmdaily3134newy/page/n163|magazine=The Film Daily|page=8|date=May 10, 1925|title=Soul-Fire}}</ref><ref name="pho28chic-751">{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/pho28chic/page/n751|title=The Shadow Stage|volume=28|issue=1|date=June 1925|page=49|magazine=Photoplay}}</ref><ref name="aficat">{{cite book|title=The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films 1921–1930|editor-last=Munden|editor-first=Kenneth W.|publisher=R.R. Bowker Company|location=New York|date=1971|oclc=664500075|pages=[https://archive.org/details/americanfilminst00amer/page/748 748]–9|url=https://archive.org/details/americanfilminst00amer|url-access=registration}}</ref>

==Cast== {{Cast listing| * Richard Barthelmess as Eric Fane * Bessie Love as Teita * Percy Ames as critic * Charles Esdale as critic * Effie Shannon as Mrs. Howard Fane, Eric's mother * Lee Baker as Howard Fane, Eric's father * Carlotta Monterey as Princess Rhea * Gus Weinberg as the old musician * Ann Brody as Princess Rhea's maid * Helen Ware as San Francisco Sal * Walter Long as Herbert Jones, a sailor * Rita Rossi as the prima donna * Edward LaRoche as the orchestra leader * Harriet Sterling as Ruau * Richard Harlan as Nuku * Ellalee Ruby as dancer in a music hall * Arthur Metcalfe as Dr. Travers, of the leper island * George Pauncefort as Mr. Simpson, an attorney * Aline Berry as Fleurette, a mannequin * Harry Redding as the disappointed musician * Leah La Roux as a dancer * Zebaida as a dancer<ref name="pho28chic-n829">{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/pho28chic/page/n829|magazine=Photoplay|page=130|title=Casts of Current Photoplays|volume=28|issue=1|date=June 1925}}</ref> }} Actors Helen Ware, Harriet Sterling, Edward LaRoche, and Leah La Roux were all cast members of the original play.<ref name="ibdb" /><ref name="silentera">{{cite web|url=http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/S/SoulFire1925.html|title=Progressive Silent Film List: ''Soul-Fire''|website=Silent Era|last=Bennett|first=Carl|date=December 6, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=12301|website=AFI|title=The AFI Catalog of Feature Films: ''Soul-Fire''}}</ref>

==Production== Most interiors were filmed at deForest Studios in Manhattan. Exteriors for the South Seas were shot throughout Florida.<ref name="embers">{{cite news|title=Embers of Soulfire|last=Love|first=Bessie|newspaper=The Christian Science Monitor|location=Boston, Mass|date=July 21, 1964|page=8}}</ref> An Italian restaurant in Manhattan served as the canteen for the production.<ref name="embers" />

==Reception== The film received generally positive reviews, with Barthelmess and Love receiving acclaim for their performances.<ref name="filmdaily3134newy" /><ref name="pictureplaymagaz23unse-n359">{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/pictureplaymagaz23unse/page/n359|magazine=Picture-Play Magazine|page=119|title=A Confidential Guide to Current Releases|date=November 1925}}</ref><ref name="pictureplaymagaz23unse-n375">{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/pictureplaymagaz23unse/page/n375|magazine=Picture-Play Magazine|page=10|title=What the Fans Think|date=December 1925}}</ref><ref name="pho28chic-751" />

==See also== * South Seas genre

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Soul-Fire}} * {{Internet Archive film|SoulFire1925|Soul-Fire}} * {{IMDb title|0016377}} * {{AFI film|12301|Soul-Fire}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20190423001113/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b6893ab ''Soul-Fire''] at the British Film Institute{{better source needed|reason=Help request: a live link can be searched for at https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/search/expert - if available, replace the archive URL with the live link. Or if none found, remove this 'better source needed' template.|date=October 2023}} * [http://upload.mediatly.com/card_pictures/11/92/71/1192716c-8bc3-4eb4-9209-38304822a96e.jpg Lobby poster]

Category:1925 drama films Category:1925 films Category:American black-and-white films Category:American silent drama films Category:American films based on plays Category:American silent feature films Category:Films directed by John S. Robertson Category:First National Pictures films Category:Surviving American silent films Category:1925 American films Category:1925 English-language films Category:English-language drama films