Oscar Wilde (source), Alla Nazimova (actress, producer) SALOMÉ [1922] Lobby card

[Los Angeles: Nazimova Productions, 1922]. Vintage original 11 x 14″ (28 x 36 cm) lobby card. Tiny chip at blank bottom right border, card is in remarkable condition, just about fine.

Although Charles Bryant received credit as director, it is known that Alla Nazimova in fact had a strong hand as co-director.

Salomé is often called one of the first art films to be made in the United States. The highly stylized costumes, exaggerated acting, minimal sets, and absence of all but the most necessary props make for a screen image much more focused on atmosphere and on conveying a sense of the characters’ individual heightened desires than on conventional plot development.

Despite the film being only a little over an hour in length and having no real action to speak of, it cost over $350,000 to make. All the sets were constructed indoors to be able to have complete control over the lighting. The film was shot completely in black-and-white, matching the illustrations done by Aubrey Beardsley in the printed edition of Wilde’s play. The costumes, designed by Natacha Rambova, used material only from Maison Lewis of Paris, such as the real silver lamé loincloths worn by the guards.

In 2000, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”. (Wikipedia)