A Thief in Paradise | |
---|---|
Directed by | George Fitzmaurice |
Written by | Frances Marion |
Based on | The Worldlings by Leonard Merrick |
Produced by | George Fitzmaurice Samuel Goldwyn |
Starring | Doris Kenyon Ronald Colman Aileen Pringle |
Cinematography | Arthur C. Miller |
Edited by | Stuart Heisler |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Associated First National (USA) UFA (Germany) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 8 reels |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
A Thief in Paradise is a 1925 American silent drama film produced by Samuel Goldwyn, directed by George Fitzmaurice, and adapted by Frances Marion from Leonard Merrick's 1900 novel The Worldlings. [1]
Ronald Colman stars as Maurice Blake in this 1925 movie. Co-star Charles Youree plays the role of Philip Jardine, the wayward son of a San Francisco millionaire. The men are part-time pearl fishers on a tropical island and, during an underwater fight for a pearl, Jardine is attacked and killed by a shark. After his death, Aileen Pringle playing the role of Rosa Carmino, informs Blake that she has a letter from Jardine's wealthy father, urging him to return to San Francisco. The envelope containing the letter includes $500 to pay for transportation. Carmino, knowing that Jardine's father has never seen his fully grown son, implores Blake to impersonate him. The two thieves, as they are alluded to in the movie's title, arrive in San Francisco and are welcomed by the Jardine family. Soon, Blake falls in love with a neighbor named Helen played by Doris Kenyon. Carmino, jealous of the affair, is paid off by Blake to maintain her silence. However, after Blake marries Helen, Carmino tells Helen the true story. Blake admits the truth to Helen and despondent, tries to kill himself. Helen, in love with Blake, refuses to leave him and instead nurses him back to health. As the movie ends, the elder Jardine improbably accepts Blake as his step son and Carmino returns to her native island. [2] [3]
The movie was praised by critics for its filming of the underwater fight scene between Blake and Jardine, an impressive technological feat at the time the movie was made, as well for its lavish sets. [2] [4] Another scene that captured the attention of critics was a polo match, organized by the hosts of a garden party, that featured a team of barefoot blondes wearing one piece bathing suits playing a team of brunettes attired in the same manner. [4]
”A feature of this chapter is a polo game played by women in bathing suits. The guests are all the more thrilled by making it a contest between blondes and brunettes. Now this may be wandering away from the narrative, but who will say such a game lacks interest?” [2]
The director, George Fitzmaurice, said in an interview after the movie was completed, that he was surprised at the athleticism of brunettes compared to blondes whom he had long regarded as athletically superior to dark haired women. [5]
With no prints of A Thief in Paradise located in any film archives, [6] it is a lost film. [1] However, the stock footage company Producers Library has a 2-minute fragment of the film available for viewing on its site.
This is an overview of 1925 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
Polly Ann Young was an American actress.
Aileen Pringle was an American stage and film actress during the silent film era.
Kenneth Daniel Harlan was a popular American actor during the silent film era, playing mostly romantic leads or adventurer roles. His career extended into the sound film era, but during that span he rarely commanded leading-man roles, and became mostly a supporting or character actor.
George Fitzmaurice was a French-born film director and producer.
The Half-Way Girl is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by John Francis Dillon that was filmed around the Jersey Shore.
Fritzi Brunette was an American actress.
Alonzo M. "Lon" Poff was an American film actor who appeared in almost 100 films between 1917 and 1951.
Hessy Doris Lloyd was an English–American film and stage actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles in The Time Machine (1960) and The Sound of Music (1965). Lloyd appeared in two Academy Award winners and four other nominees.
Winter Amos Hall was a New Zealand actor of the silent era who later appeared in sound films. He performed in more than 120 films between 1916 and 1938. Prior to that, he had a career as a stage actor in Australia and the United States. In sound films, he was frequently typecast as a clergyman.
His Hour is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by King Vidor. This film was the follow-up to Samuel Goldwyn's Three Weeks, written by Elinor Glyn, and starring Aileen Pringle, one of the biggest moneymakers at the time of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer amalgamation.
Anne Cornwall was an American actress best known for her roles in College (1927) and The Roughneck (1924).
Stella Dallas is a 1925 American silent drama film that was produced by Samuel Goldwyn, adapted by Frances Marion, and directed by Henry King. The film stars Ronald Colman, Belle Bennett, Lois Moran, Alice Joyce, Jean Hersholt, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Prints of the film survive in several film archives.
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney is a 1937 American comedy drama film adapted from the 1925 Frederick Lonsdale play The Last of Mrs. Cheyney. The film tells the story of a chic jewel thief in England, who falls in love with one of her marks.
The Mystic is a 1925 American MGM silent drama film directed by Tod Browning, who later directed MGM's Freaks (1932). It was co-written by Browning and Waldemar Young, writing a similar storyline to their earlier 1925 hit film The Unholy Three. Browning was unable however to hire his favorite star Lon Chaney this time around, and The Mystic wound up a little-known film with a cast of now-forgotten names. Aileen Pringle's gowns in the film were by already famous Romain de Tirtoff . A print of the film exists.
Wildfire is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by T. Hayes Hunter. It was produced by Distinctive Productions, a company founded by George Arliss, and distributed by the Vitagraph Company of America. The film stars Aileen Pringle.
Myrna Dell was an American actress, model, and writer who appeared in numerous motion pictures and television programs over four decades. A Hollywood glamour girl in the early part of her career, she is best known today for her work in B-pictures, particularly film noir thrillers and Westerns.
Idle Tongues is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Lambert Hillyer and produced by Thomas H. Ince, one of his last efforts before his death that year. It starred Percy Marmont and Doris Kenyon and was distributed by First National Pictures.
The Love Bandit is a 1924 American silent Western film with a Northwoods theme directed by Dell Henderson and starring Doris Kenyon, Victor Sutherland, and Cecil Spooner.
Wise Guys Prefer Brunettes is an American silent comedy film directed by F. Richard Jones and Stan Laurel, starring James Finlayson, Ted Healy, Charlotte Mineau, and Helene Chadwick. It was released by Pathé Exchange on October 3, 1926.