Thais (1917 film)

Thais is a 1917 American silent drama film produced by Samuel Goldwyn, and based on the 1890 novel Thas by Anatole France. This film featured opera prima donna Mary Garden, making her film debut at the thenlavish weekly salary of US15,000. Other cast members include Lionel Adams, Crauford Kent, and Charles Trowbridge. This film is considered one of the most colossal flops in movie history, both artistically and financially.

As described in a film magazine, Thais Garden, a lustful dancer, tries to get Paphnutius Revelle under her power, but since he is a Christian he leaves to become a monk. Later, he returns to reclaim her soul and convinces the petted, spoiled, and lustrous Thais to cast off her riches, luxuries, and friends and to follow in his footsteps. Attempting to live solitary lives, the tortuous remembrance of their past lives causes them to forget everything and rush out into the desert. Thais is rescued by some sisters who take her to a nunnery. Paphnutius, unable to conquer his love for Thais, rushes to the nunnery only to find Thais dying the death of a saint. Her saintliness brings him a realization of his wrongs, and the film ends with his begging forgiveness for bowing to temptation and the strength to continue his work.Like many American films of the time, Thais was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. The Chicago Board of Censors required, in Reel 1, a shortening of the scene on stone bench where Thais embraces man, Reel 2, cut stabbing of man, Reel 3, the intertitle To rid this city of this courtesan, Reel 4, the intertitle Your life is a life misspent. Your body a thing impure, closeup of dancer on pedestal, closeup of intoxicated couple on couch, the intertitle And with the morning the feast became a revel unashamed and flash the orgy scene following, scene of two young women with man on couch prior to intertitle Lust, all scenes of intoxicated men and women in closeup views, the intertitle Look, Thais has a monk for a lover, suicide of man, two scenes of drunken couple staggering down banquet hall, Reel 5, stabbing Nicius, and scene of Thais in desert where her figure shows through the draperies. ........

Source: Wikipedia