The Breath of Araby
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Charles L. Gaskill
Helen Gardner
L. Rogers Lytton
J. Herbert Frank
Paul Scardon
Templer Saxe
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Clothilde, the daughter of M. Chevassat, a wealthy aristocrat, becomes irritated at the attentions of M. De Launay, her father's choice for her husband. After Clothilde arranges for Chevassat to catch them in a compromising position, Chevassat kills De Launay in a duel. Clothilde, who passionately loves Captain Thurston, a married American explorer, attempts to counter Thurston's rebukes to her advances by procuring the last drop of the thousand-year-old love charm, "The Breath of Araby," from Ahmed Hassan, a wealthy Persian. Clothilde uses her allurements to get the potion. After she sends a message for Thurston to meet her at the notorious café, the Chat Noir, Chevassat sees the message and, deciding to kill himself, goes to the café with a revolver and poison. Upon hearing a knock, Chevassat drinks the poison. The proprietor enters and, thinking that Chevassat is asleep, covers him with a robe. When Clothilde arrives, she pours the drop on Chevassat. Thurston enters, and Clothilde, in horror, uncovers Chevassat. A reflex action causes his revolver to fire, and a bullet ends Clothilde's life.
Director
Charles L. Gaskill
Cast
Helen Gardner
L. Rogers Lytton
J. Herbert Frank
Paul Scardon
Templer Saxe
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
This film opened at the Vitagraph Theatre in New York on February 21, 1915 in a four reel version. It was released nationally on May 8, 1915 in three reels. Director and author Charles L. Gaskill, in a letter to the Motion Picture Editor of New York Dramatic Mirror, charged that the National Board of Censors changed the relationships of the characters substantially by cutting the film and adding their own subtitles. M. Chevassat was intended by Gaskill to be Clothilde's husband, not her father. De Launay was to be her discarded and jealous lover, not "a supplicant at her father's feet."
