SOULS FOR SALE
Starring Eleanor Boardman and Richard Dix
PHOTOPLAY
June 1923
This melodrama, written and directed by Rupert Hughes, is a personally conducted trip behind the scenes of movieland - a Cook's Tour of the empire of celluloidia. As such, it will fascinate those who have longed to visit a studio in operation - and, we suspect, their name is legion. It is for this reason that "Souls for Sale" lands among our chosen six. The story behind this journey through filmland is false and trivial, tracing a young woman from extra to stardom. But, when Hughes places his camera behind the camera and shows how make-believe becomes apparently real, then "Souls for Sale" has high interest. The action is loose, the story reeks with heavy villainy, and the acting is never impressive - but the background of studio life puts it over.