Purity (film)

Purity
Ad for the film featured in the August 26, 1916 edition of Moving Picture World
Directed by	Rae Berger
Written by	Clifford Howard (scenario)
Starring	Audrey Munson
Production company	American Film Company
Distributed by	Mutual Film
Release dates	July 23, 1916
Running time	70 mins.
Country	United States
Language	Silent English intertitles

Purity is a 1916 American silent drama film directed by Rae Berger and starring Audrey Munson. The film's scenario was written by Clifford Howard and is notable for its nude scenes.^[1]

Purity was long presumed to be lost.^[2][2][3] However, in 2004, a copy was rediscovered in France. A copy of the film is now preserved at the Centre national de la cinématographie in Paris.^[1]

Plot

Purity (Munson), a simple country girl, comes to the city and is hired as an artist's model. A young poet becomes obsessed with her, and is distraught when he learns she has been posing nude. But his distress is diminished when he finds that she intends to use her income from modeling to publish his poetry.

Cast

Munson posing nude in a still from the film.

• Audrey Munson as Purity / Virtue
• Nigel De Brulier as Thorton Darcy
• Alfred Hollingsworth as Claude Lamarque
• William A. Carroll as Evil / Luston Black
• Eugenie Forde as Judith Lure
• Clarence Burton as Publisher
• Nela Drinkwitz as Model
• Molly Shafer as Landlady

Production notes

Purity was produced by the American Film Company (known as the "Flying "A" Studios") based in Santa Barbara, California. The film was shot on an estate in Santa Barbara and was distributed by Mutual Film.^{[1] [4][5]}

See also

• List of rediscovered films

References

• Graffy, Neal (2010). Historic Santa Barbara: An Illustrated History. HPN Books. ISBN 1-935-37714-0.
• Thompson, Frank T. (1996). Lost Films: Important Movies that Disappeared. Carol Publishing Group. ISBN 0-806-51604-6.
• Waldman, Harry (2000). Missing Reels: Lost Films of American and European Cinema. McFarland. ISBN 0-786-40724-7.

Notes

1. "SilentEra entry". Silentera.com. June 12, 2009. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
2. (Thompson 1996, p. 36)
3. (Waldman 2000, p. 242)
4. (Graffy 2010, p. 72)
5. (Thompson 1996, p. 42)

External links

• Purity at the Internet Movie Database