Body and Soul (1927 film)

Body and Soul
Film poster
Directed by	Reginald Barker Nick Grinde (ass't director)
Written by	Elliott J. Clawson
Based on	'Body and Soul" 1919 story in Everybody's Magazine by Katharine Newlin Burt
Starring	Aileen Pringle Norman Kerry Lionel Barrymore
Cinematography	Percy Hilburn (*French)
Edited by	William LeVanway
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date	October 1, 1927 (1927-10-1)
Running time	60 minutes
Country	United States
Languages	Silent film English intertitles

Body and Soul is a 1927 American silent film starring Aileen Pringle, Norman Kerry, and Lionel Barrymore. The film was directed by Reginald Barker. ^{[1] [2]} It is a remake of the 1920 film The Branding Iron also directed by Barker.

The film has been preserved by MGM and George Eastman House. ^[3]

Plot summary

It is the story of a disgraced drunk surgeon (Lionel Barrymore) who leaves to start over in a small Alpine village in Switzerland. There, the surgeon becomes enamored of Hilda (Aileen Pringle), a maid at the hotel, and tricks her into marrying him on the basis that her lover, Ruffo (Norman Kerry), has left her. The surgeon's behavior turns violent after the wedding and ends with him dragging Hilda out of the village through the snow and marking her like cattle as the surgeon illustrates his descent into madness. Things go from bad to worse when Ruffo returns to stir up trouble and make the already volatile relationship even more complicated, although what precisely happens is not detailed in readily available information and is left to the reader's interpretation in this 60-minute Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film. ^[4]

Cast

• Aileen Pringle as Hilda
• Norman Kerry as Ruffo
• Lionel Barrymore as Dr. Leyden
• T. Roy Barnes as the Postman

See also

• Lionel Barrymore on stage, screen and radio
• The Branding Iron (1920)

References

1. Body and Soul at silentera.com
2. The AFI Catalog of Feature Films:Body and Soul
3. The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog:Body and Soul
4. Body and Soul (1927) . Retrieved March 17, 2025– via letterboxd.com.

External links

• Body and Soul at IMDb
• Body and Soul at the TCM Movie Database
• Body and Soul at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
• scene with Lionel Barrymore