Henry King's SHE GOES TO WAR (1929) Eleanor and similar items

Vintage original 8 x 10 in. US single-weight glossy photograph from the classic 1920's WWI-themed war drama, SHE GOES TO WAR, released in 1929 by United Artists and directed by Henry King. The image depicts star Eleanor Boardman (as American Joan Morant) coming to the aid of Tom Pike (John Holland). It is very fine condition. Based upon a story by Rupert Hughes, a young woman (Eleanor Boardman) disguises herself as a man and follows her fiancée (John Holland) into the trenches during World War I to find out what war is really like. The cast includes Edmund Burns, Alma Rubens, Al St. John, Glen Walters, Margaret Seddon, and Yola d'Avril. According to a production directory in the Dec. 8, 1928 Exhibitors Herald-Moving Picture World, work began on She Goes to War on Sept. 24, 1928. Gertrude Astor was listed as a cast member, but her name was not in the final film credits. This was re-released in 1939 with a new introduction by Mitchell Leichter commenting upon America's involvement in the then imminent forthcoming World War; it was edited down to just a little more than half of its original length, eliminating most of the silent sequences that involved dialogue, and thereby the need for inter-titles, but also most of the original story structure, so that what's left is more or less incomprehensible. The only real dialogue that's heard is in and around a couple songs by Alma Rubens. This is the only version that seems to have survived today, at least within the reaches of public availability. According to the J. Paul Getty Museum, Charles W. Pancoast was an American photographer active between the 1870's - 1920's. She Goest to War marked the final film of Alma Rubens. She was an A-list movie star for over fifteen years, but by the late 1920's, she had become a full-fledged alcoholic and cocaine and heroin addict, reduced to supporting roles. She was institutionalized more than once and had numerous run-ins with the law, all in the course of about two years, but was declared drug-free and sober by the end of 1930. However, in January of 1931, she was arrested in San Diego for being under the influence and was found with 120 grains of heroin, worth about $5,000 at the time, sewn into her clothes. While back in Hollywood awaiting trial, she died from pneumonia after a three-day illness, with her mother by her side.