Black Waters

Last updated

Black Waters
"Black Waters" ad in The Film Daily, Jan-Jun 1929 (page 553 crop).jpg
Directed by Marshall Neilan
Written by John Willard
Based onFog (a play by John Willard)
Produced by Herbert Wilcox
Starring John Loder
James Kirkwood
Noble Johnson
CinematographyDavid Kesson
Distributed byWoolf and Friedman
Release date
  • 1929 (1929)
Running time
79 minutes
CountriesUnited Kingdom
United States
LanguagesSound (All-Talking)
English
Budget£45,000 [1]

Black Waters is a 1929 British/American horror all-talking sound film produced by Herbert Wilcox and directed by Marshall Neilan. It was the first British-produced talking picture ever shown in England, but it was actually made in Hollywood since that is where the needed sound equipment was at that time. Wilcox sent Neilan to the U.S. to film the picture there, using a mostly American cast and crew. (Alfred Hitchcock's Blackmail (1929) is often said to be the first British talking picture, but it was actually released after Black Waters.) [2]

Contents

Wilcox went on to star American actors in many of his later British films as well, to make them more appealing to British filmgoers, a practice that Hammer Films did away with after 1957. [2]

Black Waters was written by American John Willard, based on his play Fog. Willard was the writer of the successful play The Cat and the Canary (1922), which was filmed several times and ripped off by a number of other filmmakers, and he was trying to repeat his success with this film, only replacing the "old dark house" setting with that of an "old dark houseboat". The cast featured Hollywood actor Noble Johnson (of King Kong fame).

Black Waters is today considered a lost film. [2]

Plot

A weird night watchman lures a group of people onto a rundown old yacht at a San Francisco pier at midnight. Once the boat sets sail, the passengers are murdered off one by one, until only two of them (Charles and Eunice) remain, along with a kindly old reverend who turns out to actually be the murderer, a crazy ship's captain named Tiger Larabee who disguises himself as a reverend to pull off a succession of murders.

Cast

Production

Herbert Wilcox produced the film after visiting Hollywood to see the development of sound. He rented a soundproofed studio from Charles and Al Christie in Hollywood for five days at £1,000 a day. Wilcox claimed it was the fifth talking picture ever made. He later obtained a license from Western Electric to equip the first sound studio in Europe. [1] Photoplay magazine noted that the film had a titular theme song, but it is not known to survive today. [3]

Reception

Wilcox struggled to get the film exhibited in England, as only a few British cinemas were equipped to handle sound pictures. [1] Historian Chris Howarth stated "The film was long thought to have received scant attention upon its initial release, though some modern film critics who have studied the original reviews suggest that it might have been more inventive than originally assumed....". [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

This is an overview of 1929 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.

The following is an overview of 1928 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths. Although some films released in 1928 had sound, most were still silent. This year is notable for the introduction of the official mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey Mouse, in the animated short Steamboat Willie, the first film to include a soundtrack completely created in post production.

The following is an overview of 1927 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.

The following is an overview of 1926 in film, including significant events, a list of films released, and notable births and deaths.

The year 1916 in film involved some significant events.

The year 1915 in film involved some significant events.

The year 1914 in film involved some significant events, including the debut of Cecil B. DeMille as a director.

1913 was a particularly fruitful year for film as an art form, and is often cited one of the years in the decade which contributed to the medium the most, along with 1917. The year was one where filmmakers of several countries made great artistic advancements, producing notable pioneering masterpieces such as The Student of Prague, Suspense, Atlantis, Raja Harischandra, Juve contre Fantomas, Quo Vadis?, Ingeborg Holm, The Mothering Heart, Ma l’amor mio non muore!, L’enfant de Paris and Twilight of a Woman's Soul.

The year 1911 in film involved some significant events.

The year 1910 in film involved some significant events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marshall Neilan</span> American actor (1891–1958)

Marshall Ambrose "Mickey" Neilan was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, whose work in films began in the early silent era.

<i>The Last Performance</i> 1929 film

The Last Performance is a 1929 American sound part-talkie film directed by Paul Fejos and starring Conrad Veidt and Mary Philbin. 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 talking sequences were featured on the last reel.

<i>The Unholy Night</i> 1929 American mystery film

The Unholy Night is a 1929 American pre-Code mystery film directed by Lionel Barrymore and starring Ernest Torrence.

<i>The Thirteenth Chair</i> (1929 film) 1929 film

The Thirteenth Chair is a 1929 American mystery film directed by Tod Browning. The picture is based on a 1916 play of the same name by Bayard Veiller. It stars Conrad Nagel, Leila Hyams and Margaret Wycherly.

<i>Seven Footprints to Satan</i> 1929 American mystery film

Seven Footprints to Satan is a sound part-talkie 1929 American mystery film directed by Danish filmmaker Benjamin Christensen. Based on the 1928 story of the same name by Abraham Merritt, it stars Thelma Todd, Creighton Hale, William V. Mong and Sheldon Lewis. 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 film survives at the Cineteca Italiana in an alternate sound version known as an International Sound Version. The sound disks for this foreign sound version are apparently not extant.

The Woman in White is a 1929 British silent mystery film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Blanche Sweet, Haddon Mason and Cecil Humphreys. It was written by Robert Cullen and Herbert Wilcox, based on the 1859 mystery novel The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins.

<i>The Terror</i> (1928 film) 1928 American horror film

The Terror is a 1928 American pre-Code horror film written by Harvey Gates and directed by Roy Del Ruth, based on the 1927 play of the same name by Edgar Wallace. It was the second "all-talking" motion picture released by Warner Bros., following Lights of New York. It was also the first all-talking horror film, made using the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system.

<i>The Haunted House</i> (1928 film) 1928 American film

The Haunted House is a 1928 American mystery film directed by Benjamin Christensen. 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. The film stars Larry Kent and Thelma Todd and is based on Owen Davis's 1926 Broadway play of the same name. UCLA Film and Television Archive has copies of the Vtaphone sound discs but not the film, which remains lost.

The Charlatan is a 1929 sound part-talkie film directed by George Melford for Universal Pictures. 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 starred Holmes E. Herbert, Margaret Livingston and Rockliffe Fellowes. The film is based on the 1923 play The Charlatan by Leonard Praskins and Ernest Pascal.

<i>Go and Get It</i> 1920 film

Go and Get It is a 1920 American silent comedy-drama mystery film directed by Marshall Neilan and Henry Roberts Symonds and written by Marion Fairfax. The film stars Pat O'Malley, Wesley Barry, Noah Beery Sr. and Agnes Ayres. The cinematographer was David Kesson. The film was released on July 18, 1920 by First National Exhibitors' Circuit.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Wilcox p 84
  2. 1 2 3 4 Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era. Midnight Marquee Press. p. 336. ISBN   978-1936168-68-2.
  3. ↑ "Advertising Section". Photoplay. June 1929. p. 146. Retrieved June 22, 2023.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.