Broken Chains | |
---|---|
Directed by | Allen Holubar |
Screenplay by | Carey Wilson Tay Garnett |
Story by | Winifred Kimball |
Produced by | Allen Holubar |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Byron Haskin |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Goldwyn Distributing Company |
Release date |
|
Running time | 70 mins |
Country | United States |
Languages | Silent English intertitles |
Broken Chains is a 1922 American silent melodrama film directed by Allen Holubar. Starring Colleen Moore, Malcolm McGregor, and Ernest Torrence, it was based on the winning story from a scenario contest held by the Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and the Chicago Daily News . A print of Broken Chains is preserved at the George Eastman House archive. [1]
Wealthy Peter Wyndham is useless in attempting to prevent the theft of Hortense Allen's jewelry. A butler is killed during the robbery, and, unable to face his cowardice, Peter heads west. He takes a job working for his father's lumber mill. Meanwhile, elsewhere, Mercy Boone's newborn child has died. Boyan Boone, her husband, is callous towards the loss. He is a thug and ne'er-do-well, with a band of thieves working with him. When Mercy attempts to escape, she meets Peter before Boyan returns her to his cabin where he chains her. Peter finds her and they begin a romance under Boyan's nose. Boyan learns and beats up Peter, who summons the strength to fight him for the honor of Mercy.
The Chicago Daily News , together with The Goldwyn Company, held a national scenario writing contest in 1921; [lower-alpha 1] first prize was $10,000 and a Goldwyn production based on the story. [3] Among 27,000 entries, Winifred Kimball's "Broken Chains" was selected. [4] The story was then given to experienced scenarist Carey Wilson to make it ready for filming. [5] [6]
Allen Holubar was borrowed from Associated First National for the project. [7] Colleen Moore was the first actor to be cast. [5] Stories in the trade press suggested concerns as to whether she would be equal to the heavily dramatic role, [8] but her prior work was not limited to comedy and she had not been typecast. [9] The role was expected to be her big break but failed to establish her as a star. [10]
Casting was complete by June and filming was started. Portions of the film were shot in Northern California, near Santa Cruz in an area known as Poverty Flats. [11] By August photography was completed.
Broken Chains premiered December 10, 1922, in New York and Los Angeles, and went into general release December 24. [12]
The Variety reviewer devoted several paragraphs to criticizing the climactic fight scene, calling it "preposterous" and reporting that the audience made fun of it. The plot overall was called "conventional"; however, the cast was commended. [13] The review in The Film Daily found the scenario disappointing and opined, "The theme suffers severely from extreme characterization in each of the principal people." The reviewer advised exhibitors that the film "will satisfy those who still like the old-fashioned type of meller" and called the posters good looking. [14]
In contrast, a review in Photodramatist, a magazine aimed at writers, praised both the story and the production: "There is the consummate handling of a subtle and really difficult theme, the sure touch in characterizations which so easily could have slipped into burlesque and bathos, the rapid piling of suspense on peril until the cumulative effect is terrific." [15] A critic for the Santa Cruz Evening News, locale of the exterior filming, singled out Moore for praise: "Colleen Moore ... attains new laurels as an emotional actress. Her work is thoroughly convincing during the difficult sequences ..." [16]
Colleen Moore was an American film actress who began her career during the silent film era. Moore became one of the most fashionable stars of the era and helped popularize the bobbed haircut.
Claire Windsor was an American film actress of the silent screen era.
Ernest Torrence was a Scottish film character actor who appeared in many Hollywood films, including Broken Chains (1922) with Colleen Moore, Mantrap (1926) with Clara Bow and Fighting Caravans (1931) with Gary Cooper and Lili Damita. A towering figure, Torrence frequently played cold-eyed and imposing villains.
William Gaxton was an American star of vaudeville, film, and theatre. Gaxton was president of The Lambs Club from 1936 to 1939, 1952 to 1953, and 1957 to 1961. He and Victor Moore became a popular theatre team in the 1930s and 1940s; they also appeared in a film together.
Naomi Weston Childers, was an American silent film actress whose career lasted until the mid-20th century.
Louise Latham was an American actress, perhaps best known for her portrayal of Bernice Edgar in Alfred Hitchcock's 1964 film Marnie.
Edward J. Peil Sr. was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 370 films between 1913 and 1951.
Allen Holubar was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter of the silent film era. He appeared in 38 films between 1913 and 1917. He also directed 33 films between 1916 and 1923.
Betty Bouton was an American actress from Pennsylvania. She appeared in 16 films between 1919 and 1924, with her last film being the Samuel Goldwyn part-Technicolor production Cytherea (1924).
Smiling Irish Eyes (1929) is a Vitaphone American pre-Code musical film with Technicolor sequences. The film is now considered a lost film. However, the Vitaphone discs still exist.
Flaming Youth is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by John Francis Dillon and starring Colleen Moore and Milton Sills, based on the novel of the same name by Samuel Hopkins Adams. The film was produced and distributed by Associated First National. In his retrospective essay "Echoes of the Jazz Age", writer F. Scott Fitzgerald cited Flaming Youth as the only film that captured the sexual revolution of the Jazz Age.
Dinty is a 1920 American silent comedy drama film written by Marshall Neilan and John McDermott specifically for Wesley Barry, a young actor known for his freckled complexion. Prominent among the supporting players were Colleen Moore, Marjorie Daw, Pat O'Malley, and Noah Beery.
Forsaking All Others is a 1922 American silent drama film starring actress Colleen Moore and directed by Emile Chautard for Universal Studios. It was made before Colleen became famous as a flapper but did visit some of the same subjects her later films would.
Through the Dark is a 1924 American silent mystery crime drama film directed by George W. Hill, and starring Colleen Moore and Forrest Stanley as the popular jewel thief and sometimes detective character Boston Blackie. The film's scenario, written by Frances Marion, is based on the short story "The Daughter of Mother McGinn" by Jack Boyle, which appeared in serial form in Cosmopolitan. The film was produced by William Randolph Hearst's Cosmopolitan Productions and distributed through Goldwyn Pictures.
Ruth Ann Baldwin was an American journalist who became a silent film writer and director active during the 1910s, one of the few women to direct in the early era of filmmaking. Despite the fact that she was one of the first female directors in America, not much is known about her, but the work she did in the 1910s was relevant to the society she lived in.
Winifred Dunn was an American screenwriter, editor, radio scenario writer, and art critic in the early 20th century. She was one of the youngest scenario editors of the silent era and was credited with writing over 40 productions.
The Wall Flower is a 1922 American silent romantic drama film directed by Rupert Hughes and starring Colleen Moore, Richard Dix, Gertrude Astor, Laura La Plante, and Tom Gallery. The film was released by Goldwyn Pictures in May 1922.
Charlotte Pierce was an American actress in silent films.
Katherine Kiernan Griffith, also seen as Catherine Kiernan, was an American character actress on stage and in silent films.
Mary Agnes Moore was an Irish-born American actress in silent films, part of a family of film actors.
No one knew quite what to do with her: Was she an ingenue ... an action heroine ... a comic ... a dramatic leading lady?