Mariemont Theatre Hosts Sold-Out Screening for Theda Bara

A sold-out crowd will fill the Mariemont Theatre in Cincinnati on Saturday, Oct. 24, for an evening dedicated to silent-film actress Theda Bara. The event marks the end of a local tribute cycle for the actress, who was born in the Avondale neighborhood in 1885.

Bara spent about five years as a major name on the silent screen, known primarily for playing the "vamp" role. Studio publicists crafted a fictional identity for her, describing her as an Arab princess with the anagrammatic name "Arab Death." In reality, she was Theodosia Goodman, the daughter of a Jewish tailor and a Swiss mother, who grew up at 823 Hutchins Ave.

After graduating from Walnut Hills High School and attending the University of Cincinnati, she moved to New York City to act. Between 1914 and 1919, she produced forty films, including titles such as The Stain, A Fool There Was, and Cleopatra. Nadya Ellerhorst, a producer for public television in the area, called her a fascinating local figure.

The Saturday program will screen Theda Bara's Memoirs, an eight-minute documentary directed by Ellerhorst, alongside A Fool There Was. A panel discussion will follow with Dr. Jennifer Glaser from the University of Cincinnati, Brian Powers from the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library, and Ellerhorst. The evening also includes a costume contest, timed for the week before Halloween.

Much of Bara’s work is gone. A fire at Fox Studios in 1937 destroyed most of her output, leaving only three surviving films. Her career effectively ended in 1919 before her thirty-fifth birthday, though she returned for two pictures in 1925 and 1926.

Those without tickets can watch the documentary online. It has garnered 50,000 views on YouTube since May 2025. The film features clips from A Fool There Was, East Lynne, The Unchastened Woman, and Cleopatra. It also examines a 450-page typed biography held in the University of Cincinnati Archives and Rare Book Library.

Bara married director Charles Brabin in 1921. Her former home at Victory Parkway and Ledgewood Drive was acquired by Xavier University in 1979 and used for its Honors College. The university demolished the Spanish-style house in 2011. Bara died of abdominal cancer in Los Angeles in 1955 at age 69.