Black Oxen (1923)

A Manhattan playboy falls in love with a mysterious European woman, whom he notices as an exact double for a famous socialite who disappeared at the turn of the century. At first, he thinks... See full summary »

Director:

Frank Lloyd

Writers:

Gertrude Atherton (novel) (as Gertrude Franklin Atherton), Frank Lloyd

Stars:

Corinne Griffith, Conway Tearle, Tom Ricketts

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Corinne Griffith	...	Madame Zatianny / Mary Ogden
Conway Tearle	...	Lee Clavering
Tom Ricketts	...	Charles Dinwiddie
Tom Guise	...	Judge Gavin Trent
Clara Bow	...	Janet Ogelthorpe
Kate Lester	...	Jane Ogelthorpe
Harry Mestayer	...	James Ogelthorpe
Lincoln Stedman	...	Donnie Ferris
Claire McDowell	...	Agnes Trevor
Alan Hale	...	Prince Rohenhauer
Clarissa Selwynne	...	Gora Dwight
Fred Gamble	...	Oglethorpe Butler
Percy Williams	...	Ogden Butler
Otto Nelson	...	Dr. Steinach
Eric Mayne	...	Chancellor

Storyline

A Manhattan playboy falls in love with a mysterious European woman, whom he notices as an exact double for a famous socialite who disappeared at the turn of the century. At first, he thinks it's just pure coincidence, as the beautiful young woman he's currently romancing is much younger than the woman who vanished years before, but soon, he begins to believe that maybe it's not such a coincidence after all.

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Plot Keywords:

youth restored | melodrama | partially lost film | color in title | young again | 

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Taglines:

A fictionalized story of an actual truth- vivid, pulsating drama and the strangest love story ever screened, enacted in the homes of New York's most exclusive social set. (Print Ad- Spartanburg Herald, ((Spartanburg SC)) 3 August 1924)

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The film is based on Gertrude Atherton's semi-autobiographical novel which, barring the science fiction elements, heavily incorporated elements of her relationship with journalist Ambrose Bierce upon whom the character of Lee Clavering was based.

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Quotes

Lee Clavering: Not so long ago I gave you a spanking. If you don't show your Grandmother more respect - I'll do it again!
Janet Ogelthorpe: Can I depend on that?

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Connections

Edited into Clara Bow: Discovering the It Girl (1999)

User Reviews

Fountain of Youth

Once again a curiosity of the silent era. Unfortunately, this is another incomplete film. We don't know what the result of all this interest in youth revitalizing surgery will lead to. The main character, Mary, became old at a time when her continued work was critical to the return of Austria to power after the war. While she was hospitalized, a treatment was performed which left her forever young. Now she has come to the attention of those who knew her years before. A man falls in love with her and things get pretty complicated because she is nearly a hundred years old. Soon all the old women in the film, some friends of hers, begin to want to do the same treatment. The problem is that just as we are about to find out what happens, we run out of film. I understand this was based on a popular piece of fiction. Still, it is an interesting idea. Barely science fiction, really. Are all mythical medical discoveries in movies science fiction? Perhaps.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

None English

Release Date:

January 1924 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die schöne Unbekannte

Company Credits

Production Co:

Frank Lloyd Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min 55 min (DVD) (incomplete)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1