Vintage original 7.5 x 10 in. US double-weight matte photograph from the teens Secret Service-themed silent film WWI drama, OUR BETTER SELVES, released in 1919 by Pathé Exchange and directed by George Fitzmaurice.
The image depicts an interior publicity shot of leading man Lew Cody (as Willard Standish). It is untrimmed in fine+ condition.
*"Our Better Selves is a lost 1919 silent film war drama directed by George Fitzmaurice and starring Fannie Ward and Lew Cody. It was produced by Astra Films and distributed by Pathé Exchange."
*(source: Wikipedia)
*"The start of principal photography was reported in the 7 September 1918 Motion Picture News, which described the film as a “revelation after the war story.” Leo White, Ray Alexander, Robert Boulder, and Florence Hauser were listed as additional cast members in the 28 December 1918 issue. A theater listing in the 1 August 1919 [Logansport, IN] Daily Tribune noted that the picture included the first screen representation of “Charon,” the ferryman from Greek mythology who transported souls across the River Styx.
Our Better Selves was released on 27 July 1919, followed by a 1 August 1919 opening at the Paramount Theatre in Logansport. The film was re-released on 20 August 1922, as stated in the previous day’s issue of Motion Picture News. The National Film Preservation Board (NFPB) included this film on its list of Lost U.S. Silent Feature Films as of February 2021.
*(source: Wikipedia)
*"The marriage of a wealthy and frivolous member of French nobility, Loyette Merval, to an American aristocratic idler named Willard Standish, is a loving one, except for their mutual dissatisfaction with Willard's idleness. After Willard becomes a chauffeur, Loyette's subsequent disgust causes him to quit. When the war begins, Willard joins the French Secret Service, while Loyette continues her social life, upset about their separation. After Willard, wounded, hides in a convent, Loyette leaves to find him. As the Germans approach, the nuns escape. Finding Willard alone, Loyette, disguised as a nun, hides him in the altar. Although ordered to be shot, Loyette's air of innocence saves her. When she overhears a plot to have the Allies chase the Germans over a mined hill, Loyette kills the soldier on watch. Although she and Willard are captured and killed, they meet crossing the River Styx and embrace as they sail to eternity."
*(source: IMDb)
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