A Fool There Was (1915)

Box Office Attractions
Directed by Frank Powell
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Kino)

The title card dubs it "a psychological drama", but really this is more like a morality play. A successful businessman and husband is selected to be a government representative in England. On the trip over by boat, he is seduced by "vampire" Theda Bara. She has a long history of reducing wealthy men to waste, and poor Edward Jose, the husband, is next in line. Before long, he is living a hedonistic life in Europe while his American wife and child sit home and worry. Theda reduces him to an alcoholic who destroys her apartment not once but twice in jealous rages. His wife tries one last time to salvage the marriage, but he's beyond hope. Although Bara gets the most publicity for this film, Jose gives the better performance.