Agnes Mapes
Agnes Mapes | |
|---|---|
 Agnes Mapes c. 1914 | |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1907-1916 |
Agnes Mapes was an American actress who appeared in vaudeville performances and silent films throughout the 1900s and 1910s. Originally a part of the Crescent Theatre Stock Company, she was highly praised for her role in the 1907 production of The Holy City. She later worked for the Kalem Company and was part of some of its productions filmed in Ireland in 1911. Her multiple roles in 1912's A Fool There Was resulted from actors having to be swapped around which led to her playing the lead position and being applauded for her "fascinating and repellant" performance.
Career
[edit]During the 1907 production of the play The Holy City, Mapes was asked to fill the role of Salome for the play's week in Philadelphia, as the several actresses who normally played the role were unavailable. The part includes a complex choreographed dance, but the dance instructor was too busy to teach her and could only show her the basic poses.[1] At the same time, none of the dance partners were available to practice with her, forcing her to work on the dance on her own. Her performance, despite this, was highly praised by Philadelphia newspapers.[1] This time period had her working with the Crescent Theatre Stock Company, though she did play some outsourced roles, such as in the 1909 play Are You a Mason? with the Gotham Company.[2]
Mapes was part of the Kalem crew that traveled to Ireland on July 3, 1911, to make films after the success of the Kalem film The Lad from Old Ireland,[3] acting as the wardrobe manager in addition to actress.[4] After a series of tours throughout the highlands of Killarney, the Kalem crew produced seventeen films of varying lengths, including The Colleen Bawn and Arrah-na-Pogue.[3][5] The 1912 production of A Fool There Was had Mapes frequently play the role of the sister, but after the main actress became ill in November of that year, Mapes was moved to the primary role of the vampiric "Woman". Her characterization of the role was described by the St. Louis Globe-Democrat as "fascinating and repellant by turns".[6]
By 1925, Mapes had become the plays department manager for Conational Plays Inc, helping promote plays to the executive staff for production.[7]
Theatre
[edit]- The Holy City (1907)[8] as Salome[9]
- Texas (1907)[10] as Lady Cecelia Trevor[11]
- The Dollar Mark (1908)[12]
- The Sporting Duchess (1909) as Muriel, Countess of Desborough[13]
- Robert Emmet (1909)[14]
- Are You A Mason? (1909)[2]
- The Fire Commissioner (1909) as the Commissioner's wife[15]
- A Fool There Was (1912)[16]
- Pilate's Daughter (1914) as Rebecca[17]
- Hedda Gabler (1916) as Mrs. Elvsted[18]
Filmography
[edit]- The Lad from Old Ireland (1910) as Aileene's mother
- Hubby's Day at Home (1911) as Wifie
- The Colleen Bawn (1911) as Mrs. Cregan[19]
- Arrah-na-Pogue (1911)[20] as Fanny Powers, an adaptation of Arrah-na-Pogue[21]
- Il trovatore (1914), a film adaptation of Il trovatore[22]
- The Glory of Youth (1915)[23]
- The Foolish Virgin (1916) as Ella Swanson[24]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Playing Salome Against Odds". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. June 3, 1907. Retrieved March 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Gotham Notes". The Chat. March 6, 1909. Retrieved April 1, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Prime, Rebecca (May 19, 2016). Cinematic Homecomings: Exile and Return in Transnational Cinema. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5013-1995-2.
- ^ Slide, Anthony (1978). Aspects of American film history prior to 1920. Scarecrow Press. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-8108-1130-0.
- ^ "A Kalem Girl In Ireland". The Moving Picture World. Chalmers Publishing Company. July 1911. pp. 31–32. Retrieved April 5, 2024 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "A Fool There Was". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. November 25, 1912. Retrieved April 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ A.D. (July 5, 1925). "Allentown Man Is Successful As Playwright". The Morning Call. Retrieved April 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Footlight Flashes". The Philadelphia Inquirer. April 21, 1907. Retrieved March 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ ""The Holy City" at the Girard". The Philadelphia Inquirer. April 30, 1907. Retrieved March 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Hartford Opera House". Hartford Courant. March 23, 1908. Retrieved March 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Auditorium". The Kansas City Post. December 2, 1907. Retrieved March 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "At The Lyric". The Allentown Leader. December 11, 1908. Retrieved March 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Stock Companies". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. February 9, 1909. Retrieved March 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Emmet Ahead Of St. Patrick". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. March 2, 1909. Retrieved March 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Fine Bill Is Offered By The Colonial This Week". Ledger-Star. May 17, 1909. Retrieved April 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Academy". Times Herald. October 8, 1912. Retrieved April 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Former Local Citizen To Direct Production". The Evening Herald. March 17, 1914. Retrieved March 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "In Aid of War Horses". The Philadelphia Inquirer. March 12, 1916. Retrieved April 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Star". The Lexington Herald. October 24, 1911. Retrieved March 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ McGowan, John J. (January 2005). J.P. McGowan: Biography of a Hollywood Pioneer. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-1994-4.
- ^ ""Arrah-Na-Pogue" At Star Today". Record-Journal. December 29, 1911. Retrieved March 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Miss Agnes Mapes in "Il Trovatore"". The Moving Picture World. World Photographic Publishing Company. 1914. p. 259. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
- ^ "At The Princess". Asheville Citizen-Times. February 1, 1916. Retrieved March 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "The Foolish Virgin". The Star Press. July 15, 1917. Retrieved March 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.