Neptune's Daughter (Universal, 1914). Fine/Very Fine on Linen. Three Sheet (42" X 82").. ...

Description

Neptune's Daughter (Universal, 1914). Fine/Very Fine on Linen. Three Sheet (42" X 82").
This was the first of the spectacular Herbert Brenon directed Annette Kellerman films. Costing a fortune to make, the box office made back the costs many times over. Kellerman, a renowned swimmer, plays the daughter of King Neptune. A mermaid at sea, she also can walk ashore. Shot on location around Bermuda, Kellerman is forced to do battle with the Witch of the Sea. This three sheet is offered for the first time by Heritage and is almost certainly the only surviving example of this poster, which has a wonderful stone litho artwork image of a bound Kellerman surviving being thrown into the sea from a high cliff, with wonderful border art of a mermaid and sea creatures. Although a complete print of this film does not survive, about 26 minutes of it exists in two different archives. Unfortunately, no complete print of any of Kellerman's films survives. Annette Kellerman (billed as "Kellermann" in her first movie, but then she dropped the last "n" of her name) was an Australian swimming star who was born with deformed legs, but overcame that through swimming (she tried to swim the English Channel three times and failed, but that notoriety made her an international star!). She parlayed that fame into a career as an actress, always in "swimming" movies from the 1900s to the 1920s. Her nickname was "The Diving Venus", and she was arrested in Boston in 1907 for wearing a then-scandalous one-piece bathing suit! She continued to be controversial and she had a nude appearance in "A Daughter of the Gods", believed to be the first nude scene in a major movie. A major film biography of her called Million Dollar Mermaid was filmed in 1952 starring Esther Williams. Apparently swimming for many years is great for your health, because Kellerman passed away in 1975 at the age of 88. Prior to restoration, this poster showed fold wear with light chipping, and a small crossfold hole at bottom fold. The borders have been airbrushed.


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