Souls in Bondage explained

Souls in Bondage
Director:	Edgar Lewis
Producer:	Lubin Manufacturing Company Siegmund Lubin
Starring:	Nance O'Neil
Distributor:	V-L-S-E
Runtime:	5 reels
Country:	United States
Language:	Silent (English intertitles)

Souls in Bondage is a 1916 American silent drama film directed by Edgar Lewis and produced by the Lubin Manufacturing Company. Nance O'Neil stars in the film,^[1] which involves two sisters and an illegitimate child.

Cast

• Nance O'Neil as Rosa Brenner
• Mary Carr as Mrs. Coombes (credited as Mrs. Carr)
• William Corbett as Julian Forbes
• Bernard Siegel as Mr. Brenner
• Ida Stanhope as Rita Brenner
• Mrs. Stuart as Mrs. Forbes

Censorship

Like many American films of the time, Souls in Bondage was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. For example, the Ohio Board of Censors required a cut of two intertitles, "I'll kill you" and "You fool," and of the shooting of woman.^[2] The Pennsylvania board required so many cuts that the film distributor chose not to exhibit such a mutilated film in that state.^[3]

Preservation

With no prints of Souls in Bondage located in any film archives,^[4] it is a lost film.

Notes and References

1. https://web.archive.org/web/20161220090140/http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=14374 The AFI Catalog of Feature Films: Souls in Bondage
2. Paul Alwyn . Platz . New Laws And Court Decisions: Ohio Censor Scissors Snip Without Rhyme or Reason . Motion Picture News . 13 . 9 . 1304 . Exhibitor's Times, Inc. . New York City . 4 March 1916 . 29 August 2024.
3. Philadelphia Exchanges Respond to Increased Bookings, Kraupa Dean of the Exchangemen . Motion Picture News . 13 . 9 . 1302 . Exhibitor's Times, Inc. . New York City . 4 March 1916 . 3 September 2024.
4. http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.mbrs.sfdb.9413/default.html The Library of Congress / FIAF American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: Souls in Bondage