Neptune's Daughter (1914 film)

{{Infobox film

| name = Neptune's Daughter

| image = Neptune's Daughter 1914 poster.jpg

| caption = Film poster

| director = Herbert Brenon

| producer =

| writer = Leslie T. Peacocke

| starring = Annette Kellerman

| music =

| cinematography = André Barlatier (French Wikipedia)

| editing =

| studio = Universal Film Manufacturing Company

| distributor = Universal Film Manufacturing Company

| released = {{Film date|1914|4|25}}

| runtime = 7 reels

| country = United States

| language = Silent (English intertitles)

| budget = approximately $50,000

| gross = $1 million

}}

File:KellermanNeptunesDaughterLeopardprint.JPG

Neptune's Daughter is a 1914 American silent fantasy film featuring the first collaboration between actress Annette Kellerman and director Herbert Brenon.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0004391/ |title=Neptune's Daughter (1914) ⭐ 5.7 {{!}} Fantasy |language=en-US |access-date=2024-05-23 |via=m.imdb.com}} It was based on Kellerman's idea of "a water fantasy movie with beautiful mermaids in King Neptune's garden together with a good love story." It was filmed by Universal in Bermuda during January and February,{{cite book|last=Holston|first=Kim R.|title=Movie Roadshows: A History and Filmography of Reserved-Seat Limited Showings, 1911-1973|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kwq69QWWFPYC&pg=PA14|accessdate=March 2, 2016|date=December 18, 2012|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9780786492619|pages=14–15}} cost approximately $50,000, and grossed one million dollars at the box office.{{cite web |url=http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/N/NeptunesDaughter1914.html |title=Neptune's Daughter |publisher=silentera.com |accessdate=March 2, 2016}}

Plot

The daughter of the king of the water, King Neptune, takes on human form to avenge the death of her young sister, who was caught in a fishing net. However, she falls in love with the king of the land, King William, the man she holds responsible.

Cast

Source:{{cite news |url=https://archive.org/details/movingpicturewor20newy/page/796/ |accessdate=June 7, 2020 |publisher=Moving Picture World| title=Neptune's Daughter|date=May 9, 1914}}

{{Cast listing|

Annette Kellerman as Annette, Neptune's daughter
William E. Shay as King William
William Welsh as King Neptune
Leah Baird as Princess Olga
Mrs. Allen Walker as The Sea Witch
Herbert Brenon as Roador the Wolf
Edmund Mortimer as Duke Boris
Lewis Hooper as Count Rudolph
Millie Liston as Jailer's mother
Katherine Lee as Angela, Annette's sister

}}

Reception

George Blaisdell, writing for The Moving Picture World after seeing a pre-release screening, gave the film a positive review, noting that "There is a wealth of incident in 'Neptune's Daughter.' The story of intrigue at court is convincing and well portrayed. The transition of Annette from the dominions of Father Neptune to the world of mortals and vice versa is so skillfully treated that it seems the perfectly natural course of events".

The film received renewed interest after 1916 when the popular A Daughter of the Gods was released, which also starred Kellerman and included a brief nudity scene.{{cite journal |title=Sol Lesser and Leon Netter Acquire Rights to Big Film for Their Pennsylvania Territory |journal=Motion Picture News |volume=14 |issue=18 |page=2844 |publisher=Motion Picture News, Inc. |location=New York City |date=4 November 1916 |url=https://archive.org/details/motionpicturenew14moti_4/page/2844/mode/1up |access-date=28 March 2021}}

Preservation

One reel of Neptune's Daughter footage is currently held in two archives, the National Film and Sound Archive and Gosfilmofond of Russia. This can be found on the Venus of the South Seas Region 1 DVD release as an extra feature.{{cite web |url=http://www.silentsaregolden.com/articles/lostfilmsarticle.html |title=These films left a lasting impression. . . |publisher=silentsaregolden.com}}{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20141225003106/http://www.thegreatstars.com/lost_film_wanted.htm Neptune's Daughter at TheGreatStars.com; Lost Films Wanted]}}(Wayback Machine)[http://lcweb2.loc.gov:8081/diglib/ihas/loc.mbrs.sfdb.1535/default.html Neptune's Daughter at American Silent Feature Film Survival Database]