Abie's Irish Rose (1928 film)

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Abie's Irish Rose
Poster - Abie's Irish Rose (1928) 01.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Victor Fleming
Written by Jules Furthman
Julian Johnson, Herman Mankiewicz (titles)
Based on Abie's Irish Rose
by Anne Nichols
Produced by B. P. Schulberg
Starring Charles "Buddy" Rogers
Nancy Carroll
Jean Hersholt
J. Farrell MacDonald
Cinematography Harold Rosson
Edited by Eda Warren
Music by J. S. Zamecnik
Production
company
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date
  • November 3, 1928 (1928-11-03)
Running time
12 reels (10,471 feet)
CountryUnited States
LanguagesSound (Part-Talkie)
English
Box office$1.5 million [1]

Abie's Irish Rose is a 1928 early sound (part-talkie) comedy film directed by Victor Fleming and starring Charles "Buddy" Rogers, Nancy Carroll, Jean Hersholt, and J. Farrell MacDonald. In addition to sequences with audible dialogue or talking sequences, the film features a synchronized musical score and sound effects along with English intertitles. The soundtrack was recorded using the Western Electric sound-on-film system. The film based on the 1922 play Abie's Irish Rose by Anne Nichols. [2] The film was later remade in 1946. In the 1930s, author Nichols revealed that her deal with Paramount brought her $300,000 plus half the film's profits. [3]

Contents

Plot

Rosemary Murphy (Nancy Carroll), a lively Irish entertainer, meets Abie Levy (Charles "Buddy" Rogers), a young Jewish soldier in the A.E.F., while both are in France during World War I. They fall deeply in love and, despite coming from vastly different religious and cultural backgrounds, are convinced that nothing can stand in the way of true love.

After the war, Abie and Rosemary are married in a Methodist Episcopal Church in Jersey City. Abie takes his new bride home and introduces her to his father, Solomon Levy (Jean Hersholt), an orthodox Jew. To soften the impact, he presents Rosemary as “Rosie Murpheski,” his sweetheart. Delighted, Solomon plans a traditional Jewish wedding ceremony for the couple.

At the moment a rabbi (Camillus Pretal as Rabbi Jacob Samuels) is uniting the couple in a second ceremony, Patrick Murphy (J. Farrell MacDonald), Rosemary’s staunchly Catholic father, arrives—accompanied by Father Whalen (Nick Cogley), a Catholic priest. Chaos erupts as the two fathers clash over religion and heritage, each determined to annul the marriage.

Still, Abie and Rosemary remain steadfast. They are again married, this time by Father Whalen, with Rabbi Samuels present in a spirit of tolerance and unity. However, their families remain divided, and the young couple are soon isolated, their only support coming from Isaac Cohen (Bernard Gorcey) and Mrs. Cohen (Ida Kramer), kindly old friends of the Levy family, as well as Sarah (Rosa Rosanova).

On Christmas Eve, the Cohens and Rabbi Samuels persuade Solomon to visit his grandchildren. Meanwhile, Father Whalen encourages Patrick Murphy to do the same. What begins as another confrontation between the two fathers slowly softens into reconciliation when Abie and Rosemary introduce their newborn twins—Patrick Joseph, named after Rosemary’s father, and Rebecca, named after Abie’s late mother.

Moved by the gesture and the innocence of the children, Solomon and Patrick shake hands at last. Forgiveness triumphs, love endures, and tolerance brings the divided families together.

Cast

Music

The film featured a theme song entitled "Rosemary" which was composed by J. S. Zamecnik and Anne Nichols. A song entitled "Little Irish Rose," also by the same composers, was also featured on the soundtrack. Both of these songs are sung by Nancy Carroll in the film. An additional song called "Abie" (by the same composers) is also heard on the soundtrack and is sung by Charles Buddy Rogers.

Preservation status

Only reels 3–6 and 9–12 survive of this film in a silent incomplete copy. There may also be an incomplete copy of reel 8, unverified. All of the surviving reels of the film are held at The Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., and the Vitaphone soundtrack discs for the film still exist complete has been restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive. [4] The film entered the public domain on January 1, 2024. [5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Biggest Money Pictures". Variety . June 21, 1932. p. 1.
  2. ↑ "Abie's Irish Rose". Film Affinity. filmaffinity.com . Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Studios Pay Well for Broadway Hits." BoxOffice, 19 June 1937, 19.
  4. ↑ Abie's Irish Rose at silentera.com database
  5. ↑ "Public Domain Day 2024 | Duke University School of Law".


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