Only 3 of 40 Theda Bara Films Remain After 1937 Fox Blaze
A sold-out screening at the Mariemont Theatre in Cincinnati marks the life of the silent era star, whose career was largely erased by a fire nearly nine decades ago.
By Maya Almasi ·
Only three films from the career of Theda Bara survive today. The 1937 fire at Fox Studios destroyed the rest of her output, leaving audiences with a fraction of the work she produced during her time on the silent screen.
Cincinnati will hold a tribute to the local icon on Saturday, Oct. 24, at the Mariemont Theatre. The event is sold out and includes a screening of "A Fool There Was" alongside "Theda Bara's Memoirs," an eight-minute documentary produced and directed by Nadya Ellerhorst. A panel discussion will follow the screenings, featuring Dr. Jennifer Glaser, Brian Powers, and Ellerhorst.
Bara was born Theodosia Goodman in 1885 in the Avondale neighborhood. She attended Walnut Hills High School and the University of Cincinnati before moving to New York City to act. Studio publicists created a fictional backstory for her, billing her as an Arab princess and claiming her name was an anagram for "Arab Death." Bara herself described her background more simply. In her own words, she was "a nice Jewish girl from Cincinnati."
From 1914 to 1919, Bara made 40 films. Titles included "Cleopatra," "Romeo and Juliet," and "The Devil's Daughter." Ellerhorst called her "truly a fascinating Cincinnati figure." The silent star became known as the original screen "vamp," a character type portrayed as seductive and dangerous to men.
Her film career effectively ended in 1919, before she turned 35. She returned to the screen two more times, appearing in "The Unchastened Woman" in 1925 and "Madame Mystery" in 1926. The 1937 fire at Fox Studios subsequently erased most of the physical record of her work. Only three prints remain of the 40 films she made.
Those without tickets for the Saturday event can watch "Theda Bara's Memoirs" online. The documentary has drawn 50,000 views on YouTube since May 2025 after airing on local public television stations. It includes excerpts from surviving films and details a 450-page typed biography held in the University of Cincinnati Archives. The house Bara once lived at Victory Parkway and Ledgewood Drive was demolished by Xavier University in 2011.
Bara died of abdominal cancer in Los Angeles in 1955 at age 69.
Source: WVXU Cincinnati Public Radio
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