Balaclava | |
---|---|
Directed by | Maurice Elvey Milton Rosmer |
Written by | Boyd Cable Gareth Gundrey W. P. Lipscomb Angus MacPhail Milton Rosmer Robert Stevenson |
Based on | "The Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson |
Produced by | Michael Balcon |
Starring | Cyril McLaglen Benita Hume Alf Goddard Miles Mander |
Cinematography | Percy Strong James Wilson |
Edited by | Ian Dalrymple |
Music by | Louis Levy |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Woolf & Freedman Film Service |
Release date |
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Country | United Kingdom |
Languages | Silent Version (1928) Sound Version (1930) (English Intertitles) |
Balaclava is a 1928 British silent and sound war film directed by Maurice Elvey and Milton Rosmer and starring Cyril McLaglen, Benita Hume, Alf Goddard, Harold Huth, and Wally Patch. [1] It was made by Gainsborough Pictures with David Lean working as a production assistant. The charge sequences were filmed on the Long Valley in Aldershot in Hampshire. Although the sound version had no audible dialogue, it featured a synchronized musical score with sound effects. The sound version was released in the United States under the title Jaws Of Hell.
A British army officer is cashiered, and re-enlists as a private to take part in the Crimean War. He succeeds in capturing a top Russian spy. The film climaxes with the Charge of the Light Brigade. [2]
Portions of Balaclava were reshot under the direction of Milton Rosmer with dialogue written by Robert Stevenson and it was re-released as a sound film which featured a synchronized musical soundtrack with sound effects in April of 1930. [3] [4]
What Price Glory? is a 1926 American synchronized sound comedy drama war film produced and distributed by Fox Film Corporation and directed by Raoul Walsh. The film was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the Movietone sound system. The film is based on the 1924 play What Price Glory by Maxwell Anderson and Laurence Stallings and was remade in 1952 as What Price Glory starring James Cagney. Malcolm Stuart Boylan, founder of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, was title writer on the silent Fox attraction.
High Treason is a 1929 film based on a play by Noel Pemberton Billing. It was directed by Maurice Elvey, and stars James Carew, Humberstone Wright, Benita Hume, Henry Vibart, Hayford Hobbs, Irene Rooke, and Jameson Thomas. Raymond Massey makes his first screen appearance in a small role. The film was initially produced as a silent but mid-way during production, Elvey was pushed by the studio to add sound to the film in order to cash in on the talkies. Although a third of the film was filmed in sound, Elvey maintained much of the silent footage and dubbed over the dialogue for shots that were originally silent, with Elvey himself voicing some of the minor characters, which he admitted when interviewed by the Manitoba Free Press shortly after the film was released in the US. Likewise, BIP's Blackmail, directed by Alfred Hitchcock was also turned into a sound picture mid-way during production and many of the silent scenes used dubbed dialogue and sound effects in a similar fashion to High Treason.
Strong Boy is a 1929 American sound comedy film directed by John Ford. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the sound-on-film Movietone process. The film, which was Ford's last silent film, is now considered to be lost. A trailer for the film was discovered in the New Zealand Film Archive in 2010 and subsequently preserved by the Academy Film Archive the same year.
Underground is a 1928 British sound drama film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Brian Aherne, Elissa Landi, Cyril McLaglen, and Norah Baring. While the film has no audible dialogue, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects, using both the sound-on-disc and sound-on-film process. The film examines the lives of ordinary Londoners and the romance between them, set on and around the London Underground.
Cyril McLaglen was a British actor who appeared in a variety of films between 1920 and 1951. He was born in London in 1899 and made his film debut in the 1920 film The Call of the Road. He was the younger brother of the actor Victor McLaglen.
Return to Yesterday is a 1940 British comedy-drama film directed by Robert Stevenson and starring Clive Brook and Anna Lee. It was based on Robert Morley's play Goodness, How Sad. The film was made at Ealing Studios.
You Know What Sailors Are is a 1928 British silent comedy drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Alf Goddard, Cyril McLaglen and Chili Bouchier. It was made at Lime Grove Studios in Shepherd's Bush, London, UK. The film is based on the novel A Light for his Pipe by E.W. Townsend.
The Lady of the Lake is a 1928 British sound romance film directed by James A. FitzPatrick and starring Percy Marmont, Benita Hume and Lawson Butt. While the film has no audible dialog, it features a synchronized musical score with singing and sound effects. The film is based on the 1810 poem The Lady of the Lake by Walter Scott.
Down River is a 1931 British crime film directed by Peter Godfrey and starring Charles Laughton, Jane Baxter and Harold Huth. Based on a novel by "Seamark", it was made at Lime Grove Studios with sets designed by Andrew Mazzei. Produced as a second feature, it is classified as a quota quickie.
The Wrecker is a 1929 British-German sound crime film directed by Géza von Bolváry and starring Carlyle Blackwell, Joseph Striker, and Benita Hume. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects. The film was based on the play of the same title by Arnold Ridley. It was produced by Michael Balcon for Gainsborough Pictures in a co-production with the German firm Felsom Film.
A South Sea Bubble is a 1928 British silent comedy adventure film directed by T. Hayes Hunter and starring Ivor Novello, Benita Hume and Alma Taylor. The screenplay concerns a group of adventurers who head to the Pacific Ocean to hunt for buried treasure. It was made at Islington Studios.
Discord is a 1933 British drama film directed by Henry Edwards and starring Owen Nares, Benita Hume and Harold Huth. Its plot involves a struggling composer who has to be supported financially by his wealthier wife. It was based on the play A Roof and Four Walls by E. Temple Thurston. It was made at British and Dominion Elstree Studios for release by Paramount Pictures.
Sally Bishop is a 1932 British romantic drama film directed by T. Hayes Hunter and starring Joan Barry, Harold Huth and Isabel Jeans. It is an adaptation of the 1910 novel Sally Bishop, a Romance by E. Temple Thurston. The novel had previously been adapted into two silent films.
Second to None is a 1927 British silent war film directed by Jack Raymond and starring Moore Marriott, Ian Fleming and Benita Hume. The screenplay concerns a naval family who come under strain when their son goes absent without leave to settle a domestic problem with his wife.
Love and the Devil is a 1929 American sound drama film directed by Alexander Korda and starring Milton Sills, María Corda and Ben Bard. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the sound-on-disc Vitaphone process.
Captain Lash is 1929 American sound adventure drama film directed by John G. Blystone and starring Victor McLaglen, Claire Windsor and Jane Winton. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using both the sound-on-disc and sound-on-film process. It was produced and distributed by the Fox Film Corporation. A copy of the film exists at the UCLA. The film was released with a music score and sound effects track.
Alf's Button is a 1930 British comedy film directed by W. P. Kellino and starring Tubby Edlin, Alf Goddard and Nora Swinburne. It is an adaptation of the 1920 novel Alf's Button by William Aubrey Darlington. The film features some singing and dancing sequences in an early colour process, which is believed to be Pathécolor.
The Flight Commander is a 1927 British silent war film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Alan Cobham, Estelle Brody and John Stuart. It was made by British Gaumont at their Lime Grove Studios in Shepherd's Bush. The celebrated First World War pilot Alan Cobham appeared as himself. It is also known by the alternative title of With Cobham to the Cape.
The Loves of Carmen is a 1927 American silent romantic drama film directed by Raoul Walsh. The film, based on the novella Carmen by Prosper Mérimée, stars Dolores del Río in the title role, and Don Alvarado as Jose. Due to the public apathy towards silent films, a sound version was also prepared in 1928. While the sound version has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using both the sound-on-disc and sound-on-film process.
The Better 'Ole is a 1926 American synchronized sound World War I comedy drama film. Released by Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc., this film is the second full-length film to utilize the Vitaphone sound-on-disc process, two months after the first Vitaphone feature Don Juan; with no audible dialogue, the film does have a synchronized musical score and sound effects. This film was also the second onscreen adaptation of the 1917 musical The Better 'Ole by Bruce Bairnsfather and Arthur Elliot. Charlie Chaplin's eldest brother Sydney Chaplin played the main lead as Old Bill in perhaps his best-known film today. This film is also believed by many to have the first spoken word of dialog, "coffee", although there are those who disagree. At one point during the film, Harold Goodwin's character whispers a word to Sydney Chaplin which is also faintly heard. This was discovered by the UCLA's Robert Gitt, during the restoration of the sound discs for the film. The line was recorded in perfect sync, apparently during the orchestra recording sessions rather than live on set, therefore making it the earliest known use of dubbing in a motion picture.