Vintage orignial 22 x 28 in. US half-sheet poster from the lost historical-themed silent film drama, QUEEN OF SHEBA, released in 1921 by the Fox Film Corporation and directed by J. Gordon Edwards.
The design features a beautiful color-tinted photographic scene depicting the Queen of Sheba (Betty Blythe) as she gives a command to Menton (Herschel Mayall) while Tamaran (Herbert Heyes) watches from behind it. Unfolded as originally issued, it is in fine+ condition with restoration to address creases in the borders and it appears that the last inch of the bottom border was expertly replaced.
Queen of Sheba is a lost silent film, as no prints are known to exist. Star Betty Blythe made twenty-eight costume changes throughout the film and famously said, *"(If) I put them on all at once, I couldn't keep warm."
*(source: IMDb)
*"The Queen of Sheba (1921) is a silent drama film produced by Fox studios about the story of the ill-fated romance between Solomon, King of Israel, and the Queen of Sheba. Written and directed by J. Gordon Edwards, it starred Betty Blythe as the Queen and Fritz Leiber Sr. as King Solomon. The film is well known amongst silent film buffs for the risqué costumes worn by Blythe, as evidenced by several surviving stills taken during the production. Only a short fragment of the film survives.
The film was originally intended for Theda Bara. However Bara chose not to renew her contract and, after making the ill-fated Kathleen Mavourneen, she all but retired from filmmaking. While making Mavourneen, construction began on sets for The Queen of Sheba. Not wanting it to go to waste, William Fox chose to put Betty Blythe in the role. The film became a hit but Blythe never matched its success with her later films.
The topless scenes filmed in this movie were seen only in European release versions of the movie. The film is presumed lost. A 1937 New Jersey vault fire destroyed most of the Fox silent film negatives and prints, and it is unlikely a copy of The Queen of Sheba still exists. However, in May 2011, a 17-second fragment was found, and initially mistakenly identified as from Cleopatra (1917), though comparison with stills from the movie have since led to it being identified correctly."
*(source: Wikipedia)
The story tells of the ill-fated romance between Solomon, king of Israel (Fritz Lieber), and the Queen of Sheba (Betty Blythe). The cast includes Claire de Lorez, George Siegmann, Herbert Heyes, Herschel Mayall, G. Raymond Nye, and George Nichols.
J. Gordon Edwards *"began his career as an actor, then as director and producer at the Suburban Garden Theatre in St. Louis, then at the Academy of Music in New York, where he was hired by William Fox to direct films in 1914. He directed 22 films starring Theda Bara, who called him "the nicest director I ever worked with." His grandson is the director Blake Edwards."
(source: IMDb)
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