Acting
A 1922 re-edit of Fred J. Balshofer’s earlier feature—shot in 1918 as Over the Rhine and released in 1920 as An Adventuress—this version was issued to capitalize on Rudolph Valentino’s sudden stardom. The cut boosts Valentino’s presence through repeated/enlarged shots, looping and out-takes, and reframes the story in a tropical island setting; it’s widely regarded as a cash-in reissue.
Two sisters, Julia Crossland and Evelyn Jefferson, happy lives are thrown into turmoil when a man from their past, Thomas Chadwick reappears unexpectedly. Both had at one time been smitten with Thomas writing indiscreet letters to him. When Chadwick is killed, they fear their secret will be revealed.
Gerald Stanley (John Gilbert) is an English gentleman who is engaged to Beatrice Joyce (Alma Frances). But Stanley's personality changes whenever he drinks, and his brother (who also loves Beatrice) uses this to his advantage.
Filmed by Fred J. Balshofer in 1918 as the anti-German war drama Over the Rhine, the project was reshaped and released in 1920 as An Adventuress—a cross-dressing caper set in the fictional republic of Alpania and headlined by female-impersonation star Julian Eltinge, with early appearances by Rudolph Valentino and Virginia Rappe. The film was later re-edited and reissued in 1922 as The Isle of Love.
