The Woman With The Hungry Eyes - 2006 - 6/10

Overcooked documentary of Theda Bara, the original Vamp.
Hers is old fashioned, out-of-date by the 20’s, dell’‘arte acting. Highly melodramatic.
Alas, much of this has the feel of a padded homework assignment.
Modern actors recreate scenarios, and amateurish animation surfaces from time to time.
Out of place, a newsreel crawls across the screen bottom frequently. Strange.
That said, this is perhaps the best documentary we shall ever see on Ms Bara.
Better, this doc has clips from her few, very few, surviving movies, and loads of stills.
The bulk of Bara’s films were destroyed in a 1937 fire at the Fox warehouse.
Much as I am kicking this, this doc is a must for Silent film fans!