The Dumb Girl of Portici

Well, this was certainly a magical, unexpected event! I am a member of the SF Silent Film Festival organization because I am a secret jazz baby at heart. I love the 1920's for too many reasons to list here (Egyptian Revival fashion, anyone? I live for it). Imagine my shock when I opened the flyer for this year's list of movies and BOOM! The Dumb Girl of Portici was playing, starring none other than my all time favorite dance inspirational goddess/muse Anna Pavlova. I actually gasped out loud. She was filmed only a few times during her career (once at Douglas Fairbanks' house he filmed her dancing-there is only a 40 second clip that has survived today) and this movie is the only full feature film. Since I've read every book written about Pavlova I already knew about the film. I had seen still shots, and actually dreamed about the film. And thanks to the bohemian artistry of the beautiful city of San Francisco, I got to SEE the film. Here are some still shots of the slideshow they played before the film started. These were pictures I had never seen of Pavlova (I truly thought I had seen them all), and the second I saw them I burst into tears. I was practically crying through the entire film. She was acting, but I could see her dancing in her acting. It was magical. I never thought I would ever ever see this film so I feel very grateful for this experience. Tears of joy. For more information about Anna Pavlova, click HERE and HERE.