Dramatist Ruth Draper Vintage Movie 1937

[drumpointer]

Unbelievable. Ruth Draper with no sound.

Like Leonardo da Vinci with no pictures.

[penelopebianchi]

same as the comment 3 years ago!

NO SOUND?

A SERIOUS DRAWBACK!

PLEASE FIX!!!!!!!!

PENELOPE

[SuedeNyme]

This is great! I performed monodramas on stage after I saw an actress named Rosamund Fuller and realized that one didn't need any other actors, one could put on an entire play all by oneself. Ruth Draper also was a mono performer, so thank you very much for this movie!

Sue

[Matthudson2]

So rare and precious. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Makes me regretful I wasn't born until 1963. I would have loved to have seen her in Vaudeville.

[noelcoward68]

All hail the greatest of them all—Ruth Draper, the inimitable.

[kitboy69]

Ruth Draper was one of if not THE first thing I looked for on here over a year ago and there was , of course nothing. I'm glad to see someone had something to put up. Thank you.

Oh, I want to see and hear her at the same time!

[Divayenta]

The queen of monologues. I bow to the Divine Miss Draper- the progenitor of Lily, Whoopi and Bette . None came close, though.

[sfhunk]

Thanks for posting this....I have been a big fan of hers since my early twenties in grad school when I was introduced to her (by other gay guys at my gym of all places.) We use to have get togethers to listen to her monologues.

[britcomic]

Incredible. The only bit of film I have seen of Draper, though I know there is a silent fragment from the late 1940s (directed by Alexander Korda) and a clip from a 1956 ed Sullivan appearance. Both are under the jealous control of the Draper estate so this is gold.

[theafterbounce]

Doesn't Patricia Norcia have exclusive long-term rights to the monologues? She performed as Draper in the '80's. Most respectable actresses would never touch them -- too bad this stranger owns the rights. Wonder how that happened.

[britcomic]

Yes, I believe she does - not sure how she ended up with such power. I am told she holds exclusive rights to perform them and generally witholds permission for anyone else to. Maybe this is a good thing: the original recordings are inimitable.

[exackerly]

Yes, but I have a guilty desire to hear them live just once, even if I know they won't be as good as Draper's own recordings.

But I don't know if today's audiences could really appreciate them. Something like The Italian Lesson would fall on deaf ears at a time when most people profess nothing but contempt for rich people...

[ChaunceytheGardener]

I shared your curiosity and saw Ms Norcia perform the monologues in both New York and London. Of course, she wasn't as good as the original; but I wanted to SEE how Miss Draper would have presented them on stage. It's a shame they weren't filmed with Ruth Draper.

[fraangelico1]

R.D. is clearly acting for the camera - thank God. Even this short, silent clip gives a real sense of her presence, of the way she moved her body to express what words couldn't. Oddly enough, I'm glad it's silent - it forced me to look much more closely. You even get a sense of how she must have strode out onto a stage. A real find.

[PuffLippy06]

I wonder if it might be The Debutante?

[DirkVA]

It is not a waste to the many who, unlike you evidently, revere the art of Ruth Draper.

[zutler]

what a wonderful thing...i always wanted to know what she was reellylike on film....Thank you so much for posting it...How did you come to have it? Was she a friend of your fathers? What a lucky man if she was.

Her recordings now havea face for me....

[PuffLippy06]

Thank you so much for posting this. It's probably the closest any of us will ever get to seeing her on film.

[richiedrr]

No sound?

[ClemClemens1111]

Nice that you have this piece of history.

[Celtruler]

Who wasted the film on this "art" project?