Singed Wings, directed by Penrhyn Stanlaws, starred Bebe Daniels as Bonita della Guerda, Conrad Nagel as Peter Gordon, Adolphe Menjou as Bliss Gordon, and Ernest Torrence as Emilio. The film was released on December 18, 1922, at eight reels, and is presumed lost.
Plot: Bonita della Guerda has a dream which she relates to her grandfather, Don Jose. The dream begins in a garden at a fancy castle. The fairies plan to make the Prince and Princess fall in love. The Prince meets the Princess and retrieves a white rose which has fallen from her hair. He kisses the rose and returns it to her. The King’s Jester is jealous and spies upon the couple. When the Princess is alone, he draws his bow and shoots an arrow through her breast. As she swoons, she sings a strange song. The Prince, upon hearing the song, turns around his horse and heads back to the garden. There, the dream ends. Don Jose tells Bonita that the dreams of the della Guerdas always come true.
In San Francisco, Bonita works as a dancer in the Café Rosa d’Espagnol, to support her grandfather. She is worshipped by a half-witted clown named Emilio.
Bliss Gordon comes to the café, along with his wife, and is struck by Bonita’s charm.
He learns the white rose in her hair is a symbol of her virtue and cannot be bought. Bliss makes a wager that he will get the rose. His wife, Eve, is miserable because of Bliss’ many affairs. She sends for her nephew, Peter Gordon, in the hope that he will be able to help her win back her husband.
Peter arrives at the café while Bonita is performing her moth dance.
The rose falls from her hair, and Peter picks it up, kisses it, and returns it to her.
Both Peter and Bonita experience a feeling of déjà vu.
Eve decides to obtain a costume similar to Bonita’s and learns the dance, hoping to regain Gordon’s love.
Bonita goes to Bliss’ country place, determined to pay any price to lift her grandfather out of poverty. But at the last moment, she rejects Bliss.
Peter enters and Bliss attacks him, claiming he is fighting off a burglar. But Bonita discovers the “burglar” is really Peter. Peter tells her he came to save her from his uncle. Bonita is indignant at his interference, and sends him off.
The next day, Peter learns that Bonita actually loves him, so he goes to her to ask for forgiveness. A church bell rings and Bonita recalls the sound as the death knell from her dream. Terrified, she sends Peter away.
Meanwhile, at a house party thrown by Bliss, Eve, wearing a mask and dressed like Bonita, performs The Dance of the Moth. Emilio observes that there is no rose in her hair. Believing the dancer is Bonita, and that she has sold herself to Bliss, he shoots and kills her. Bonita comes upon the scene, recognizes this event from her dream, and then realizes the dream was not intended for her. Emilio, now completely mad, draws his pistol and forces Bonita to dance, threatening to kill her if she stops.
In desperation, Bonita chants the song she remembered from her dream. Outside, Peter hears the song, and rushes in to rescue Bonita.
Emilio kills himself, and Bonita and Peter receive Don Jose’s blessing.
A set was built to represent the San Francisco waterfront, and is shown below:
Theodore Roberts dropped by during filming and was greeted by two fairies:
In between scenes, Bebe Daniels did some sketching (it’s not known whom she was drawing):
Below, extra George Hegis uses a telescope to get a close-up view of Bebe (rather creepy):
The photos below show Conrad Nagel and Adolphe Menjou clowning around on the set:
Reviews ranged from so-so to downright hostile.
Exhibitor’s Herald called the film “an artistic accomplishment of fair business value,” but added the film was “better suited to the high class audience.”
The Film Daily called the movie “artistic and novel but not a particularly good entertainment,” adding “it seems more or less apparent that the original story contained more spice than would ever get by the censors so it has been neatly camouflaged in the guise of a fantasy with a fairy tale prologue to give it an atmosphere of the unreal but here and there the real objective appears and you are given a hint at it although the harm is immediately removed by a counter-acting title or another scene.”
Motion Picture News wrote “it’s a weird tale, carrying no interest because of its fantastic plot and the strange marionettes which roam through it. The entertainment values are almost nil.”
Exhibitor’s Trade Review wrote “the curious mingling of fantasy and melodrama in this picture is so deftly and gracefully accomplished that is registers as most unusual and interesting entertainment which can hardly fail to achieve widespread success.” But
Photoplay lowered the boom, writing “we haven’t encountered a more absurd photoplay in a year of picture going. Another variation of the simple and honest girl who dances in a wicked café, her noble young lover and a scoundrelly man-about-town. This time it’s a ‘Frisco café. Added to the complications is an idiot clown. Director Penrhyn Stanlaws saw fit to introduce a fantastic prologue that heightens the absurdity.”