Wharton on stage and screen

Greetings!

At The Mount we are hard at work on our 2010 exhibit: "Dramatic License: Wharton on Stage and Screen". We want to share not only some of the most recent and well-known adaptations of her works, but also those which have faded from memories, such as a 1935 film called Strange Wives based on a Wharton short story initially entitled Bread Upon the Waters, and later changed to Charm, Inc. The movie Strange Wives was not a great box office hit it seems, but if anyone has ever seen it, please share!

Most people remember Michell Pfeiffer as Madame Olenska in the 1993 Age of Innocence, but we have tracked down other great actors who have portrayed Ellen on stage and screen including Beverly Bayne in a 1924 silent film, Katherine Cornell in the 1928 stage version, and Irene Dunne in the 1934 film version. Edith Wharton called one of them "my perfect Ellen". Any guesses which one she meant? Who would be your "perfect Ellen"? Think on it, blog it.

Thanks,
The Mount