Triumph

Triumph is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Joe De Grasse, written by Fred Myton, starring Lon Chaney and Dorothy Phillips. The screenplay was adapted from a short story by Samuel Hopkins Adams. It was produced by Bluebird Photoplays and released by Universal Film Manufacturing Company. Only the first three of the five reels of this film survive, and the third reel is heavily decomposed. Two stills exist showing Lon Chaney as the terminally ill Paul Neihoff (see plot). Like many American films of the time, Triumph was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. The Chicago Board of Censors required cuts in Reel 3 of intertitles "What did you pay him?" and "If you haven't paid him yet, you will;" in Reel 4 intertitles "Its not done in these days, you pay for what you get" and "Your triumph or Paul Neihoff's?"... all scenes between man and girl where she seems to assent to his indecent proposals, and the scene showing the actual stabbing of Mr, Monteith; and in Reel 5 the scenes of the suicides of both Neihoff and Nell. Plot Nell Baxter, an aspiring actress, decides to leave her hometown and go to Broadway where she has been told she will surely triumph as a great star. At the train station, she meets a troupe of road-show actors and becomes friendly with Dudley Weyman, one of the actors. He urges her not to move to the big city, but she does not heed his advice and soon finds herself stranded in Manhattan without employment. Nell is hanging around a Broadway theatre looking for work, when she is spotted by Dudley Weyman who introduces her to the theatre manager. Dudley not only gets her a part in the show, but he soon falls in love with her, although Nell feels only friendship for him. The manager, David Montieth, is also attracted to Nell, but she only has eyes for Paul Neihoff (Lon Chaney), an unemotional drama critic who only cares about getting his play produced. Playing on her affections, Neihoff gets Nell to entice Mr. Montieth into reading his play by coming on to him. Montieth, thinking Nell is in love with him, agrees to produce Paul's play and gives Nell the lead role in it.