Soul-Fire (Silent) (DVD)

Eric Fane, a struggling pianist, travels to Paris to study music, secretly longing to compose a great symphony. Looking for inspiration, he signs on for a voyage to the South Seas. Jumping ship, he is rescued by Teita, a beautiful native girl. The two fall in love and plan to marry, until Teita is stricken by a mysterious tropical malady. Fearing for the life of the one he loves, Eric is at last inspired to write the great symphony that has stirred within his soul for so long.

Based on the 1924 Broadway production Great Music, Soul-Fire stars Richard "DIck" Barthelmess, one of the most popular leading men of the silent era. Famed Russian actress Alla Nazimova, a family friend, helped Barthelmess break into motion pictures, when he co-starred with her in War Brides (1916) and came to the attention of D.W. Griffith. In 1919 he rose to fame starring in the classic Broken Blossoms and again in 1920's Way Down East, which features the iconic scene where he leaps over ice floes to save the heroine. In 1921 he achieved widespread success with Tol'able David, starring in a role many critics consider his best. Barthelmess would deliver powerful performances in The Patent Leather Kid (1927), The Noose (1928), The Dawn Patrol (1930) and Only Angels Have Wings (1939) before retiring to Long Island to live off the proceeds of his successful real estate investments. The gorgeous Bessie Love also got her start with Griffith, who cast her in his epic Intolerance (1916). She is best remembered for her role in the science fiction extravaganza The Lost World (1925) and her Academy Award nominated turn in The Broadway Melody (1929).

• silent