The Dream Lady (1918) User Reviews

Making Dreams Come True

[boblipton · 6/10 · 9 November 2018]

When her uncle dies, Carmel Myers decides she wants four things: a cottage in the woods, a kimono, a Livonian bloodhound and a perfect gentleman. So she sets up as a gypsy in the cottage and tries to make others' dreams come true, including Kathleen Emerson, who wants a vacation as a man and her shy neighbor, Thomas Holding, who's in awe of her free spirit.... until he catches Miss Emerson in pants kissing Miss Myers.

It's a light-hearted movie, based on a novel by Margeret Widdemer, carried on Miss Myers' laughing charms. It's also pretty monotonous, and if it were much longer than its 50 minutes of screen time, it would have been far too sappy for my tastes. There are a couple of plot complications, not only Miss Myers apparently being a hussy, but a side issue of Philo McCullough as an inventor looking for backing, but they don't complicate anything to the point where the audience can't expect anything but a happy ending. It's a good thing Miss Myers is so charming.

Carmel Myers had entered the movies three years earlier when D.W. Griffith was consulting her father the rabbi for research on INTOLERANCE, Carmel had walked past the gigantic sets and said they fascinated her, so Griffith invited her onto the shoot. That's the casual way a major career could start in those days.

The Dream Lady (1918) - Lost Film ?

[PamelaShort · 23 January 2015]

Rosamond Gilbert ( Carmel Myers ) is a lonely orphan, until her her uncle leaves her a small fortune. She soon purchases a bungalow, adopts fellow foundling Allie ( Elizabeth Janes ) and sets up a fortune-telling shop, hoping to make others dreams come true too. Her first visitor is Sydney Brown ( Kathleen Emerson ) frustrated with her life, she confesses, she would prefer being a man. Rosamond provides the answer, dressing her in man's clothing. In her new disguise, Sydney befriends James Mattison ( Harry Von Meter ) who confides he could marry a woman with Sydney's qualities. She falls in love and finally lets down her disguise, becoming happily engaged to James. Rosamond's next customer is the wealthy John Squire ( Thomas Holding ) who is led astray with her advice that he invest in the business dealings of Jerrold ( Philo McCullough ) a swindler. Luckily Squire discovers Jerrold's dishonesty in time, and not only forgives Rosamond, but asks for her hand in marriage.

This film starring the beautiful actress Carmel Myers, is listed as unknown. I wish I could provide the reader with a more detailed synopsis. As with a lot of lost silent films, they are extremely hard to track down.

Charming and witty leading lady

[myamydog · 9/10 · 9 November 2018]

Entertaining 1 hour long silent movie that kept my interest all the way through. Charming film. I saw it on Turner Classic Movies. Early Hollywood film directed by Elsie Jane Wilson, produced by Universal.

Pleasant, Light Fare.

[WesternOne1 · 4/10 · 9 November 2018]

CONTAINS SPOILER. The Dream Lady is a thin little fantasy about a girl who inherits money and with it finally does what she's always wanted- to live in the woods and make others happy. Not necessarily with the said money, but with her advice. She dispenses it by wearing a gipsy costume and sitting in a tent outside her cabin. Oddly enough, she gets multiple visitors who take her seriously. The main part of the story involves her innocently getting the handsome local squire to buy into a con man's scheme. The most ludicrous part of the story involves her advising a vacationing city girl to achieve her fondest wish, to become a man. This is achieved by her donning a male hiking outfit, and then going fishing, acquiring a man as a fishing buddy, who buys into her masculine pose without question. A guy with such poor eyesight shouldn't be out in the woods alone. he must have poor hearing too, but since it's a silent we're left to guess that the gal must be doing a convincing male voice. When he sees her at the end, he instantly accepts this too, and they start kissing. The whole film is a real piece of innocent fluff, from the days before everything was psychologically vetted first. In those days, all films were more "Dream"-like than the more realist material that came with the post-war sophistication and then sound.

Early Feminist Work? Certainly Not Lost, Available for Streaming

[NYHeraldTribune · 8/10 · 4 July 2019]

The other reviews her suffice but given the notion of this being a hard to find film I thought I'd point out that this film as well as several other in the collection seem to be exclusive to the Pioneer First Women Filmmakers set available from Kino. It can also be purchased but is streaming as a season on Netflix for now.

Also, the outdoor settings and quality of the print are quite beautiful and the scenario and lead role, unlike many of the other early films directed by women, lends itself to thoughts on a burgeoning sense of female emancipation and empowerment circa a century ago.

Weaver of Dreams

[kidboots · 8/10 · 5 August 2019]

Getting her first movie breaks because of her father's connections with the early Californian film industry, Carmel Myers joined Universal (one of the first studios to move west) when she was a teenager and became one of it's most popular stars. Teaming up with Elsie Jane Wilson (there was an Australian connection between them) "Dream Lady" was able to come up with some cunning "gender bender" variations. Myers plays dreamy Rosamond who with the death of her grumpy uncle can now realise her dreams of having a little cottage in secluded woodland, a bloodhound from Livonia and becoming a fortune teller!!

She finds a forest hideaway, also picks up a little orphan Allie and finds her nearest neighbour is a dyspepsic recluse whose mother despairs of his ever finding a wife!! You can see where this is going!!

Into this idyllic setting comes trouble - Richard Jerrold, a conman, the black sheep of a hard working farming family, who is now passing himself off to gullible Rosamond (even the kid smells a rat and refuses to shake his hand) as a misunderstood inventor and encouraging her to do him a favour by finding customers to invest in his turbine company (actor Philo McCullough had a huge career of over 500 films). And of course smitten John Squires (the recluse) is quick to sign up but he is having second thoughts about Rosamond's constancy. He has seen her kissing one of her clients down by the water's edge and is horrified at her explanation that the client, Sydney, is just showing their gratitude. The secret that John isn't in on is that Sidney is really a girl who has come to Rosamond to ask for assistance to just break free from conventions for a while and to live as an equal to her fellow man. She then finds a fellow companion who thinks he has found the perfect pal!!

There are a couple of editorial slip ups - Rosamond yearns for a Chinese kimono but little Allie finds one at the start in Rosy's suitcase!! Elsie Jane Wilson was born in Australia where she toured with J.C. Williamson and eventually she and fellow thespian Rupert Julian married and immigrated to America in 1911 were they were both hired by Universal's Rex Company. Universal had a reputation of promoting women in all aspects of film. Wilson was soon known as the noted woman producer/director of Bluebird productions with children's movies her specialty. Her direction of little Elizabeth Janes as Allie is comical and memorable!!