Cincinnati screens surviving films of Theda Bara

Audiences at the Mariemont Theatre will watch three silent films on Saturday, Oct. 24, honoring a native daughter of Cincinnati whose career defined the early 20th-century screen. The event is sold out, limiting in-person attendance to those who secured tickets for the special program.

Theda Bara, born Theodosia Goodman on July 29, 1885, at 823 Hutchins Ave. in Avondale, rose to fame between 1914 and 1919. During that five-year period, she appeared in 40 movies, including titles such as The Stain and Cleopatra. Studio publicity shaped her persona as a mysterious "vamp," billing her as an Arab princess, though she described herself as a Jewish girl from Cincinnati.

Nadya Ellerhorst, producer of the accompanying eight-minute documentary Theda Bara's Memoirs, noted that Bara is a fascinating local figure. The evening program will screen the documentary alongside A Fool There Was. Following the films, a panel discussion will feature Dr. Jennifer Glaser, a University of Cincinnati associate professor, Brian Powers, a historian with the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library, and Ellerhorst. Attendees also have the opportunity to participate in a costume contest.

Only three of Bara's 40 films remain in existence. A fire at Fox Studios in 1937 destroyed the rest of her body of work. Her primary film career ended in 1919, before her 35th birthday, although she returned to acting in 1925 for The Unchastened Woman and in 1926 for Madame Mystery.

Those without tickets can view Theda Bara's Memoirs online. The documentary, which premiered on public television stations in May 2025, has accumulated 50,000 views on YouTube. It includes clips from East Lynne and The Unchastened Woman and examines a 450-page typed biography held in the University of Cincinnati Archives and Rare Book Library.

Bara married film director Charles Brabin in 1921. Her former residence at Victory Parkway and Ledgewood Drive was acquired by Xavier University in 1979. The institution used the Spanish-style house as the "Villa" for its Honors College until its demolition in 2011.

Theda Bara died of abdominal cancer in Los Angeles in 1955 at the age of 69.