Careers | |
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Directed by | John Francis Dillon |
Written by | Forrest Halsey (adaptation & dialogue) Paul Perez (titles) [1] |
Based on | Karriere (1924 German play) by Alfred Schirokauer Paul Rosenhayn |
Produced by | Ned Marin |
Starring | Billie Dove |
Cinematography | John F. Seitz |
Edited by | John Rawlins [1] |
Music by | Song: "I Love You, I Hate You" Al Bryan (words) George W. Meyer (music) Score (uncredited): Cecil Copping Alois Reiser |
Production company | |
Distributed by | First National Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 92 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Careers is a 1929 American all-talking pre-Code drama film directed by John Francis Dillon and produced and released by First National Pictures. It stars Billie Dove and features Antonio Moreno, Thelma Todd and Noah Beery. The film was based on a 1924 German play entitled Karriere, written by Alfred Schirokauer and Paul Rosenhayn.
Careers was Billie Dove's first film with dialogue.
In the French colony of Cochin-China, young French magistrate Victor Duval (Antonio Moreno) and his wife Hélène (Billie Dove) are virtually prisoners because the colony's Resident (Noah Beery) is attracted to the wife. The Resident blocks Victor's career on the bench until his wife agrees to his demands. Victor, angered by this treatment after four years of hard work, secretly goes to the governor of the colony to complain.
Advised by Carouge (Holmes Herbert), a prominent attorney in the colony, as to why her husband's career has been stymied, Hélène tries to save her husband from disaster by pleading with the Resident, but inadvertently reveals her husband's plan. Afraid for his safety, she consents to do whatever the Resident's wishes, as long as he does nothing to endanger her husband. Just as he is about to take advantage of her offer, he is murdered by a native musician (Kamiyama Sojin) who has been hiding in the room.
Hélène is immediately suspected of the murder, and the musician comes out of hiding and accuses her of the crime. Victor is placed in charge of the investigation and discovers that the musician is lying, and that he is the murderer.
Tired of the dangers of life in the French colony, the couple head back to Paris, where Victor hopes to start a new career. [2]
The film featured a theme song entitled "I Love You — I Hate You (For Making a Fool of Me)," with words by Al Bryan and music by George W. Meyer. Carmel Myers sings the song during the film and it is also heard in the background in several scenes as part of the instrumental scoring.
A song entitled "My Sweet Helene," also written by Bryan and Meyer, was originally sung as a duet between Antonio Moreno and Billie Dove. This song was cut from the film after preview audiences reacted unfavorably. The only reference to the song remaining is during the last scene when Antonio Moreno exclaims "My Sweet ..." before kissing Billie Dove at the final fade out. Nevertheless, sheet music survives for this song survives as it was released before the final version of the film was re-edited.
During the party sequence at the Resident's headquarters an unidentified classical number is performed by Andrés de Segurola.
The film was considered a lost film, with only the Vitaphone soundtrack still in existence. However, a print was discovered an Italian film archive in 2017. [3]
Wallace Fitzgerald Beery was an American film and stage actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in Min and Bill (1930) opposite Marie Dressler, as General Director Preysing in Grand Hotel (1932), as the pirate Long John Silver in Treasure Island (1934), as Pancho Villa in Viva Villa! (1934), and his title role in The Champ (1931), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. Beery appeared in some 250 films during a 36-year career. His contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer stipulated in 1932 that he would be paid $1 more than any other contract player at the studio. This made Beery the highest-paid film actor in the world during the early 1930s. He was the brother of actor Noah Beery and uncle of actor Noah Beery Jr.
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.
Luis Antonio Dámaso de Alonso, known professionally as Gilbert Roland, was a Mexican-born American film and television actor whose career spanned seven decades from the 1920s until the 1980s. He was twice nominated for the Golden Globe Award in 1952 and 1964 and inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.
Noah Nicholas Beery was an American actor who appeared in films from 1913 until his death in 1946. He was the older brother of Academy Award-winning actor Wallace Beery as well as the father of prominent character actor Noah Beery Jr. He was billed as either Noah Beery or Noah Beery Sr. depending upon the film.
Holly Knight is an American songwriter, musician, and singer. She was a member of the 1980s pop rock groups Spider and Device, and wrote or co-wrote several hit singles for other artists, such as "Rag Doll", "Obsession", "Love Is a Battlefield", "The Best", "Invincible", "Better Be Good to Me", "The Warrior", and "Change".
Antonio Garrido Monteagudo, better known as Antonio Moreno or Tony Moreno, was a Spanish-born American actor and film director of the silent film era and through the 1950s.
Glorifying the American Girl is a 1929 American pre-Code musical comedy film produced by Florenz Ziegfeld that highlights Ziegfeld Follies performers. The last third of the film, which was filmed in early Technicolor, is basically a Follies production, with appearances by Rudy Vallee, Helen Morgan, and Eddie Cantor.
Thelma Carpenter was an American jazz singer and actress, best known as "Miss One", the Good Witch of the North in the movie The Wiz.
The Godless Girl is a 1928 American sound part-talkie drama directed by Cecil B. DeMille. 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 RCA Photophone sound-on-film system. The cast features Lina Basquette, Marie Prevost, Tom Keene, and Noah Beery.
The Rough Riders is a 1927 American silent drama film directed by Victor Fleming, released by Paramount Pictures, and starring Noah Beery, Sr., Charles Farrell, George Bancroft, and Mary Astor. Due to the public apathy towards silent films, a sound version was also prepared early 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 picture is fictional account of Theodore Roosevelt's military unit in Cuba. This film had an alternate release title, The Trumpet Call. The cinematography was by James Wong Howe and E. Burton Steene.
The Show of Shows is a 1929 American pre-Code musical revue film directed by John G. Adolfi and distributed by Warner Bros. The all-talking Vitaphone production cost almost $800,000 and was shot almost entirely in Technicolor.
Golden Dawn is a 1930 Warner Bros. American pre-Code musical operetta film directed by Ray Enright that was photographed entirely in Technicolor. It stars Vivienne Segal, Walter Woolf King and Noah Beery.
Showgirl in Hollywood is a 1930 American pre-Code all-talking musical film with Technicolor sequences, produced and distributed by First National Pictures, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. The film stars Alice White, Jack Mulhall and Blanche Sweet. It was adapted from the 1929 novel Hollywood Girl by J.P. McEvoy.
The Road to Mandalay is a 1926 American silent drama film directed by Tod Browning and starring Lon Chaney, Owen Moore, and Lois Moran. It was written by Elliott Clawson, based on a story idea by Tod Browning and Herman Mankiewicz. The script's original shooting title was Singapore. The film took 28 days to complete at a cost of $209,000. The worldwide box office gross was $724,000. Some stills exist showing Chaney's makeup as Singapore Joe.
Night Watch is a 1928 American synchronized sound drama film directed by Alexander Korda and starring Billie Dove, Paul Lukas and Donald Reed. 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 was an adaptation of the dramatic 1921 play In the Night Watch, written by Michael Morton. The film is set almost entirely on a French warship at the beginning of the First World War. Night Watch was the first of Korda's films to feature sound.
Adoration is a 1928 American synchronized sound drama film. 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 was released by First National Pictures, a subsidiary of Warner Bros., and directed by Frank Lloyd. It stars Billie Dove, Antonio Moreno, Emile Chautard and Lucy Doraine. The film was also issued in a shorter silent version for theatres that were not yet wired for sound.
East of Suez is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Pola Negri. It is based on a play, East of Suez (1922), by W. Somerset Maugham. The film was produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures.
Linda is a 1929 American sound drama film directed by Dorothy Davenport. 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.
Naughty Baby is a 1928 American synchronized sound comedy film directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Alice White and Jack Mulhall. 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. It was released on December 16, 1928, by First National Pictures.
La otra mujer is a 1972 Mexican comedy drama film directed by Julián Soler and starring Mauricio Garcés, Saby Kamalich and María Duval. The film is a remake of the Mexican film Mi esposa y la otra (1952), which in turn is a remake of the Argentine film The Kids Grow Up (1942).