Chained (1934 film)

Last updated
Chained
Chainedposter.gif
1934 lobby card
Directed by Clarence Brown
Screenplay by Edgar Selwyn (story)
John Lee Mahin
Albert Hackett
Frances Goodrich
Produced by Hunt Stromberg
Starring Joan Crawford
Clark Gable
Cinematography George J. Folsey
Edited by Robert J. Kern
Music by Herbert Stothart
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • August 31, 1934 (1934-08-31)
Running time
74 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$544,000 [1]
Box office$1.9 million [1]

Chained is a 1934 American drama film directed by Clarence Brown and starring Joan Crawford and Clark Gable with supporting performances by Otto Kruger, Stuart Erwin, Una O'Connor and Akim Tamiroff. The screenplay was written by John Lee Mahin, Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich based upon a story by Edgar Selwyn. [2] Ward Bond and Mickey Rooney appear briefly in uncredited roles.

Contents

Richard (Kruger), a shipping magnate, asks his wife for a divorce so he can marry his secretary (Crawford). The wife refuses and Diane, who loves him deeply, offers to become his mistress. He is desperately in love with her, but he knows what that would mean to her life. He sends her on a long cruise to think about it. On the cruise, Mike, a charismatic South American rancher (Gable), sets out to seduce her, and they end up falling in love. She returns to New York City to tell Richard, only to find that he has given up his sons and obtained a divorce. They marry. A chance encounter in New York brings the three together, and in the end, Richard lets Diane go to be with the man she loves most.

Chained is the fifth of eight collaborations between Crawford and Gable.

Plot

Eager to marry his devoted secretary Diane Lovering, New York shipping magnate Richard Field asks his wife Louise for a divorce. However, Louise refuses to surrender her social position and denies Richard's request. Although Diane insists that she will continue to love him without the benefit of marriage, Richard asks her to contemplate her choices while cruising to South America on one of his boats. Diane agrees to the cruise, but vows to return to New York unchanged.

1934 lobby card Chained poster.jpg
1934 lobby card
Magazine publicity Chained NMM3409.jpg
Magazine publicity

Soon after boarding, Diane meets Johnnie Smith in the ship's bar and rejects his flirtations. Johnny asks his smooth-talking best friend Mike Bradley for help but is double-crossed when Mike treats him like a drunk who is annoying Diane. Mike charms her and a shipboard romance blossoms. Still true to Richard, Diane makes no commitments to Mike. He persists, inviting her to visit his ranch in Buenos Aires. After a fun-filled day, Diane and Mike confess their mutual love. Diane finally tells him about Richard, but realizing that Mike is the man whom she truly loves, Diane promises that when she returns to New York, she will end her affair with Richard.

Richard presents Diane with a wedding ring and explains that his wife finally agreed to divorce him under the condition that he not be allowed to see his sons. Overwhelmed by his sacrifice for her, Diane says nothing about her new romance. After writing Mike a "Dear John" letter dumping him, she marries Richard.

A year later, Diane encounters Mike in a New York gun shop and suggests that they dine together. In spite of his bitterness, Mike still loves Diane and senses that she still loves him. Diane explains why she is loyal to Richard. Mike visits their country house and, in spite of Diane's protests, vows to confront his rival. But when Mike sees how kind and caring Richard is with Diane, he relents and leaves. Richard reveals that he had long sensed that she was in love with another man and nobly offers to divorce her. Unchained at last, Diane and Mike begin their married life on his ranch.

Cast

Production

Chained was the first of eight films that Crawford would make with cinematographer George J. Folsey, who discovered a lighting scheme that emphasized Crawford's best features after noticing how the soft light of single small spotlight illuminated her eyes and cheekbones. Crawford was thrilled with the effect and demanded the same type of lighting for the rest of her career. [2]

Reception

The Motion Picture Herald noted, "The showmanship value of the entertainment elements with which this picture deals is long and solidly established. The leading players ...are among the foremost exponents of the type of romantic theme which is its motivation."[ citation needed ]

New York Herald Tribune theater critic Richard Watts, Jr. noted, "the two stars, who certainly know their business, wisely decide to pass their time tossing charm and personality all over the place, which is obviously what the film requires for audience appeal." [2]

Box office

According to MGM records, the film earned $1,301,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $687,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $732,000. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>The Divorcee</i> 1930 film

The Divorcee is a 1930 American pre-Code drama film written by Nick Grindé, John Meehan, and Zelda Sears, based on the 1929 novel Ex-Wife by Ursula Parrott. It was directed by Robert Z. Leonard, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director. The film was also nominated for Best Picture, and won Best Actress for its star Norma Shearer.

<i>Possessed</i> (1947 film) 1947 film by Curtis Bernhardt

Possessed is a 1947 American psychological drama directed by Curtis Bernhardt, starring Joan Crawford, Van Heflin, and Raymond Massey in a tale about an unstable woman's obsession with her ex-lover. The screenplay by Ranald MacDougall and Silvia Richards was based upon a story by Rita Weiman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akim Tamiroff</span> American actor (1899-1972)

Akim Mikhailovich Tamiroff was an Armenian-American actor of film, stage, and television. One of the premier character actors of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tamiroff appeared in at least 80 motion pictures in a career spanning 37 years, developing a prolific career despite his thick accent.

<i>Love on the Run</i> (1936 film) 1936 film by W. S. Van Dyke

Love on the Run is a 1936 American romantic comedy film, directed by W.S. Van Dyke, produced by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and starring Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Franchot Tone and Reginald Owen in a story about rival newspaper correspondents assigned to cover the marriage of a socialite. The screenplay by John Lee Mahin, Manuel Seff and Gladys Hurlbut was based on a story by Alan Green and Julian Brodie. Love on the Run is the seventh of eight cinematic collaborations between Crawford and Gable. At the time of its release, Love on the Run was called "a lot of happy nonsense" by critics, but a huge financial success, nonetheless.

<i>The Bridge of San Luis Rey</i> (1944 film) 1944 Benedict Bogeaus film

The Bridge of San Luis Rey is a 1944 drama film made by Benedict Bogeaus Productions and released by United Artists. It was produced and directed by Rowland V. Lee with Benedict Bogeaus as co-producer. The screenplay by Howard Estabrook and Herman Weissman was adapted from the 1927 novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder. The music score was by Dimitri Tiomkin and the cinematography by John W. Boyle and an uncredited John J. Mescall. The film stars Lynn Bari, Francis Lederer, Akim Tamiroff, Nazimova and Louis Calhern.

<i>China Seas</i> (film) 1935 film by Tay Garnett

China Seas is a 1935 American adventure film starring Clark Gable as a brave sea captain, Jean Harlow as his brassy paramour, and Wallace Beery as a suspect character. The oceangoing epic also features Rosalind Russell, Lewis Stone, Akim Tamiroff, and Hattie McDaniel, while humorist Robert Benchley memorably portrays a character reeling drunk from one end of the film to the other.

<i>Possessed</i> (1931 film) 1931 American film by Clarence Brown

Possessed is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film directed by Clarence Brown, starring Joan Crawford and Clark Gable and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film is the story of Marian Martin, a factory worker who rises to the top as the mistress of a wealthy attorney. The screenplay by Lenore J. Coffee was adapted from the 1920 Broadway play The Mirage by Edgar Selwyn. Possessed was the third of eight film collaborations between Crawford and Gable.

<i>The Buccaneer</i> (1938 film) 1938 film by Cecil B. DeMille

The Buccaneer is a 1938 American adventure film made by Paramount Pictures starring Fredric March and based on Jean Lafitte and the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812. The picture was produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille from a screenplay by Harold Lamb, Edwin Justus Mayer and C. Gardner Sullivan adapted by Jeanie MacPherson from the 1930 novel Lafitte the Pirate by Lyle Saxon. The music score was by George Antheil and the cinematography by Victor Milner.

<i>Forsaking All Others</i> 1934 film by W. S. Van Dyke

Forsaking All Others is a 1934 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by W.S. Van Dyke, and starring Robert Montgomery, Joan Crawford and Clark Gable. The screenplay was written by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, which was based upon a 1933 play by Edward Barry Roberts and Frank Morgan Cavett starring Tallulah Bankhead.

<i>Mannequin</i> (1937 film) 1937 film by Frank Borzage

Mannequin is a 1937 American drama film directed by Frank Borzage and starring Joan Crawford, Spencer Tracy, and Alan Curtis. Crawford plays Jessie, a young working class woman who seeks to improve her life by marrying her boyfriend, only to find out that he is no better than what she left behind. She meets a self-made millionaire with whom she falls in love despite his financial problems.

<i>Beauty for Sale</i> 1933 film

Beauty for Sale is a 1933 American pre-Code film about the romantic entanglements of three beauty salon employees. Based on the 1933 novel Beauty by Faith Baldwin, it stars Madge Evans, Alice Brady, Otto Kruger and Una Merkel.

<i>New York Town</i> 1941 film by Charles Vidor

New York Town is a 1941 American romantic comedy film directed by Charles Vidor and starring Fred MacMurray, Mary Martin, Akim Tamiroff, and Robert Preston. The film was written by Lewis Meltzer and an uncredited Preston Sturges based on a story by Jo Swerling.

<i>A Scandal in Paris</i> 1946 film by Douglas Sirk

A Scandal in Paris is a 1946 American biographical film directed by Douglas Sirk and starring George Sanders, Signe Hasso and Carole Landis. It loosely depicts the life of Eugène François Vidocq, a French criminal who reformed and became a famous French Prefect of Police during the Napoleonic era.

<i>The Women</i> (1939 film) 1939 film by George Cukor

The Women is a 1939 American comedy-drama film directed by George Cukor. The film is based on Clare Boothe Luce's 1936 play of the same name, and was adapted for the screen by Anita Loos and Jane Murfin, who had to make the film acceptable for the Production Code for it to be released.

<i>Child of Divorce</i> 1946 film by Richard Fleischer

Child of Divorce is a 1946 American drama film directed by Richard O. Fleischer. It was the first film that he directed. RKO had adapted the play to film before as the 1934 film Wednesday's Child.

<i>The Scarlett OHara War</i> 1980 television film by John Erman

The Scarlett O'Hara War is a 1980 American made-for-television drama film directed by John Erman. It is based on the 1979 novel Moviola by Garson Kanin. Set in late 1930s Hollywood, it is about the search for the actress to play Scarlett O'Hara in the much anticipated film adaptation of Gone with the Wind (1939). This film premiered as the finale of a three-night TV miniseries on NBC called Moviola: A Hollywood Saga.

<i>The Gangster</i> (1947 film) 1947 film by Gordon Wiles

The Gangster is a 1947 American crime film noir starring Barry Sullivan, Belita, Joan Lorring and Akim Tamiroff. It was directed by Gordon Wiles, with a screenplay by Daniel Fuchs, based on his novel Low Company (1937).

<i>My Girl Tisa</i> 1948 film by Elliott Nugent

My Girl Tisa is a 1948 American period drama film directed by Elliott Nugent and starring Lilli Palmer, Sam Wanamaker and Akim Tamiroff. It is based on the play Ever the Beginning by Lucille S. Prumbs and Sara B. Smith.

<i>A Perfect Plan</i> 2012 French film

A Perfect Plan is a 2012 French action adventure comedy film directed by Pascal Chaumeil and starring Diane Kruger, Dany Boon, and Alice Pol. It is released as Fly Me to the Moon in Canada and Australia. Written by Laurent Zeitoun and Yoann Gromb, and based on a story by Philippe Mechelen, the film is about a woman in love who tries to break her family curse of every first marriage ending badly by dashing to the altar with a random stranger before marrying her boyfriend.

<i>Texas Rangers Ride Again</i> 1940 film

Texas Rangers Ride Again is a 1940 American Western film directed by James P. Hogan, written by William R. Lipman and Horace McCoy, and starring Ellen Drew, John Howard, Akim Tamiroff, May Robson, Broderick Crawford, Charley Grapewin, and John Miljan. It was released on December 13, 1940, by Paramount Pictures. It was a sequel to The Texas Rangers.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "The Eddie Mannix Ledger". Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help).
  2. 1 2 3 "Chained (1934)". TCM.com.