A Modern Sphinx - Production & Contact Info

A Modern Sphinx (1916)
Short | Short, Drama

A Modern Sphinx (1916)

Short | Short, Drama

Asa loves Senneth, but he loves Essene, another girl. Asa, scorned, appeals to her father, Kam, a sorcerer, to use his magic arts to prosper "A Love that Seeks For Self" and he refuses her request. When she tries to poison Senneth, Ram ...See moreAsa loves Senneth, but he loves Essene, another girl. Asa, scorned, appeals to her father, Kam, a sorcerer, to use his magic arts to prosper "A Love that Seeks For Self" and he refuses her request. When she tries to poison Senneth, Ram puts her under a spell, "For three thousand years shall thy soul sleep and then reborn without love. In love may it find redemption." The cycle of years has run its course, and to Mr. and Mrs. Grant is horn a baby daughter, Zaida. She grows up to womanhood and is known as the Modern Sphinx, or "The Woman Without a Heart." She has many lovers, but lacking the power to love, she cannot understand their proposals. At a fete given in her honor she meets the famous soothsayer and oculist, Aster. He foretells her future in these mystic words: "The cycle of the stars is completed; you will learn love's secret, sacrifice." Again Zaida is mystified by love. "What is love?" Francis Passmore, artist and musician, joins the house party. There he sees Zaida and is struck by her cold, lifeless beauty. He hears that she is the Modern Sphinx, but cannot believe that a woman of such beauty can know nothing of love. He falls in love with her. He tries to explain to her the meaning of "love"' and plays a lyric on his violin and relates the story, but the music fails to awaken her soul. He tells her of love in allegory. One night he finds her sitting by a stone pillar gazing at the heavens in her passionless manner. As he watches her, she seems to turn into a sphinx. Then he has an inspiration and teaches her love, then passion. She escapes from Lim, mystified and frightened. Can this be love? He follows her and as he gathers her into his arms again love awakens. She returns to the house and there meets a new arrival, Passmore's wife. Then she realizes that though she has found love she has stolen it from another. In her misery she remembers Aster and gets a small vial of poison. There on the cold balcony, with the stars as her companions, she puts a few drops of the poison on her lips. She disappears. The scene shifts back to 3,000 years before and Ram is seen reading the stars as if it had all happened just in a moment. He returns to the chamber and there finds Asa as she awakens. The soul of Asa has learned the secret of Love, Sacrifice. Written by Moving Picture World synopsis See less

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Cast	+ Add Cast
9 cast members

Name	Known for
Winifred Greenwood Asa & Zaida Grant (dual role) Asa & Zaida Grant (dual role) See fewer	The Mission Worker (1911)
Charles Newton Ram Ram See fewer	The Warning (II) (1915)
Nan Christy Essene Essene See fewer	The Quest (I) (1915)
King Clark Semeth Semeth See fewer	The Lure of the Mask (1915)
Edward Coxen Francis Passmore Francis Passmore See fewer	The Bells (1918)
Ella M. Morrison Mrs. Grant Mrs. Grant See fewer	A Modern Sphinx (1916)
George Field Aster Aster See fewer	Blood and Sand (1922)
Eugene Burr Actor Actor See fewer	The House of Terror (1928)
Robert Klein Actor Actor See fewer	The Ancient Mariner (1925)