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Fedora (1918 film)

1918 film by Edward José

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMay 14, 2026
Entity authorityQ8855343 ↗
Source-derived summary

Fedora is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by Edward José. The film stars Pauline Frederick, Alfred Hickman, Jere Austin, William L. Abingdon, and John Merkyl (as Wilmuth Merkyl). The film was released on August 4, 1918, by Paramount Pictures.

Fedora was adapted for the screen by Charles E. Whittaker, based on the 1882 play with the same name by Victorien Sardou. The play was also the source material for film adaptations produced in 1915, titled Princess Romanoff, and in 1928.

Plot

As described in a film magazine, Fedora, a Russian princess of wealth and beauty and engaged to Count Vladimir Androvitch, vows to bring the murderer of the Count to justice after he is mysteriously slain. She traces the assassin to Paris and poses as a Russian exile. By the practice of her wiles she induces Louis Ipanoff to fall in love with and wrings a confession from him. Ipanoff goes to Fedora's house and reveals the truth of her fiancé's death, he having discovered Vladimir in Mme. Ipanoff's bedroom.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Fedora (1918 film)” as 1918 film by Edward José. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA useful identification and reception guide that helps separate the work itself from editions, performances, ownership and later interpretation. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1918, 1882, 1915, 1928—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1918-01-01. The account is most persuasive where Fedora, film and Edward can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as 1918 film by Edward José. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q8855343. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1918, 1882, 1915 and 1928.

Critical limits

Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Fedora (1918 film)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Fedora (1918 film) primary sources, Fedora (1918 film) archive and Fedora research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Fedora (1918 film)”?
  2. Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
  3. Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Fedora (1918 film)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.