Don Juan | |
---|---|
Directed by | Alan Crosland |
Written by | Walter Anthony (intertitles) Maude Fulton (intertitles) Victor Vance (art titles) |
Screenplay by | Bess Meredyth |
Based on | Don Juan 1821 poem by Lord Byron |
Starring | John Barrymore |
Cinematography | Byron Haskin |
Edited by | Harold McCord |
Music by | William Axt David Mendoza Major Bowes [1] |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 112 minutes |
Country | United States |
Languages | Sound (Synchronized) (English Intertitles) |
Budget | $546,000 [2] |
Box office | $1,693,000 (worldwide rental) [3] |
Don Juan is a 1926 synchronized sound American romantic adventure film directed by Alan Crosland. It is the first feature-length film to utilize the Vitaphone sound-on-disc sound system with a synchronized musical score and sound effects, though it has no spoken dialogue. [4] The film is inspired by Lord Byron's 1821 epic poem of the same name. The screenplay was written by Bess Meredyth with intertitles by Maude Fulton and Walter Anthony. [5]
Don Juan stars John Barrymore as the hand-kissing womanizer. [5]
In the prologue, Don José, warned of his wife's infidelity, seals his wife's lover alive in his hiding place and drives her from the castle; abandoned to his lust, he is stabbed by his last mistress, and with his dying words he implores his son, Don Juan, to take all from women but yield nothing. Ten years later, young Don Juan, a graduate of the University of Pisa, is famous as a lover and pursued by many women, including the powerful Lucrezia Borgia, who invites him to her ball. His contempt for her incites her hatred of Adriana, the daughter of the Duke Della Varnese, with whom he is enraptured; and Lucrezia plots to marry her to Count Giano Donati, one of the Borgia henchmen, and poison the duke. Don Juan intervenes and thwarts the scheme, winning the love of Adriana, but the Borgia declare war on the duke's kinsmen, offering them safety if Adriana marries Donati; Don Juan is summoned to the wedding, but he prefers death to marriage with Lucrezia. He escapes and kills Donati in a duel. The lovers are led to the death-tower, but while Adriana pretends suicide, he escapes; and following a series of battles, he defeats his pursuers and is united with Adriana.
Don Juan premiered August 6, 1926, at the Warner Theatre in New York City [6] preceded by a program of other shorts demonstrating Vitaphone. [7]
Title | Year |
---|---|
Hon. Will H. Hays, President of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, Who Will Address You | 1926 |
New York Philharmonic, conducted by Henry Kimball Hadley - Overture to "Tannhäuser" | 1926 |
Mischa Elman - "Humoresque" and "Gavotte" | 1926 |
Roy Smeck The Wizard of the String in His Pastimes | 1926 |
Marion Talley, with the Vitaphone Symphony Orchestra conducted by Herman Heller - "Caro Nome" from "Rigoletto" | 1926 |
Efrem Zimbalist and Harold Bauer - Theme and Variations from "The Kreutzer Sonata" | 1926 |
Giovanni Martinelli, with the Vitaphone Symphony Orchestra conducted by Herman Heller - "Vesti La Giubba" | 1926 |
Anna Case in "La Fiesta", Soprano Solo, Assisted by The Cansinos, Spanish Dancers, and the Metropolitan Opera Chorus | 1926 |
Lou Tellegen, an early film matinee idol, had starred in a Broadway production based on the Don Juan legend in 1921. This play ran only 14 performances at the Garrick Theatre. [8] The soundtrack for the film was performed by the New York Philharmonic. George Groves, on assignment from The Vitaphone Corporation, was charged with recording the soundtrack to the film. He devised an innovative, multi-microphone technique and performed a live mix of the 107-piece orchestra. In doing so he became the first music mixer in film history.
The film was a box-office success being Warners' biggest grossing film to date with earnings of $1,693,000 [3] despite negative reviews from New York film critics. [9] According to Warners records, the film earned $1,258,000 in the U.S. and $435,000 in other markets. [2]
Opening night tickets cost $10, and it was the first film on Broadway to charge over $3 for a regular ticket with the top prices at $3.30 each night. In the five performances over the weekend, it grossed $13,787 with people literally fighting to get in and tickets changing hands for $5. [10]
The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
On August 24, two weeks after the premiere, The New York Times reported that ASCAP was pursuing claims of copyright infringement on behalf of publisher Robbins-Engel Music over the score for Don Juan. Composer William Axt had used two pieces that he had previously composed for a silent film mood music library owned by Robbins-Engel, "The Fire Agitato" and "In Gloomy Forest," along with several pieces of European classical music that were still under copyright. [13] One of the compositions Axt interpolated in the score for Don Juan was "Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks," a tone poem by the German composer Richard Strauss. [14] At the time of the event, the Warner Theatre had a valid ASCAP license for public performance, and had paid the statutory mechanical royalties for the Vitaphone discs containing the soundtrack audio, but they had not licensed the copyrighted compositions specifically for synchronization rights. The matter was settled out of court, [15] and the Warner Theatre's Music Director, Herman Heller, assigned Ottalie Mark to the task of creating a copyright research database for Warner Bros. Pictures to prevent further infringement claims. [16]
A print of Don Juan, including its Vitaphone soundtrack, still survives and is preserved at the UCLA Film and Television Archive. [17] [18]
In 2011, the film, along with the original Vitaphone sound shorts, was released on manufactured-on-demand DVD by the Warner Archive Collection. [19]
The Jazz Singer is a 1927 American part-talkie musical drama film directed by Alan Crosland and produced by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is the first feature-length motion picture with both synchronized recorded music and lip-synchronous singing and speech. Its release heralded the commercial ascendance of sound films and effectively marked the end of the silent film era with the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system, featuring six songs performed by Al Jolson. Based on the 1925 play of the same title by Samson Raphaelson, the plot was adapted from his short story "The Day of Atonement".
Vitaphone is a sound film system used for feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects made by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National from 1926 to 1931. Vitaphone is the last major analog sound-on-disc system and the only one that was widely used and commercially successful. The soundtrack is not printed on the film, but issued separately on phonograph records. The discs, recorded at 33+1⁄3 rpm and typically 16 inches (41 cm) in diameter, are played on a turntable physically coupled to the projector motor while the film is projected. Its frequency response is 4300 Hz. Many early talkies, such as The Jazz Singer (1927), used the Vitaphone system. The name "Vitaphone" derived from the Latin and Greek words, respectively, for "living" and "sound".
The Singing Fool is a 1928 American sound part-talkie musical drama motion picture directed by Lloyd Bacon which was released by Warner Bros. 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 Vitaphone sound-on-disc system. The film stars Al Jolson and is a follow-up to his previous film, The Jazz Singer. It is credited with helping to cement the popularity of American films of both sound and the musical genre.
Glorious Betsy is a 1928 sound part-talkie drama film. 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 Vitaphone sound-on-disc system. The film is based on the 1908 play of the same name by Rida Johnson Young, and it stars Dolores Costello. It was produced by Warner Bros. and nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing, Adaptation in 1929. The film was directed by Alan Crosland with cinematography by Hal Mohr.
Gold Diggers of Broadway is a 1929 American pre-Code musical comedy film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Winnie Lightner and Nick Lucas. Distributed by Warner Bros., the film is the second all-talking, all-Technicolor feature-length film.
Paris is a 1929 American pre-Code musical comedy film, featuring Irène Bordoni. It was filmed with Technicolor sequences: four of the film's ten reels were originally photographed in Technicolor.
My Man is a 1928 black and white sound part-talkie American comedy-drama musical film directed by Archie Mayo starring Fanny Brice and featuring Guinn "Big Boy" Williams. 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 Vitaphone sound-on-disc system.
Good Time Charley is a 1927 American synchronized sound drama film produced and distributed by Warner Bros. and directed by Michael Curtiz. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the Vitaphone sound-on-disc process. It was considered to be a lost film. However, as of January 2021, the film is listed as extant at the Library of Congress.
Glad Rag Doll is a 1929 American sound part-talkie pre-Code drama film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Dolores Costello, Ralph Graves and Audrey Ferris. 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 Vitaphone sound-on-disc system. This is one of many lost films of the 1920s, no prints or Vitaphone discs survive, but the trailer survives. The film's working title was Alimony Annie, but was changed match the title of the theme song. The theme song is entilted Glad Rag Doll both played and sung throughout the soundtrack.
Old San Francisco is a 1927 American synchronized sound historical drama film starring Dolores Costello and featuring Warner Oland. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the Vitaphone sound-on-disc process. The film, which was produced and distributed by Warner Bros., was directed by Alan Crosland.
When a Man Loves is a 1927 American synchronized sound historical drama film directed by Alan Crosland and produced and distributed by Warner Bros. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the Vitaphone sound-on-disc process. The picture stars John Barrymore and features Dolores Costello in the frequently filmed story of Abbe Prevost's 1731 novel Manon Lescaut. The lovers suffer, but the film has an optimistic ending, as they head to America. Manon dies at the end of the novel. The UK release title was His Lady.
The Lion and the Mouse (1928) is a sound part-talkie drama film produced by Warner Bros., directed by Lloyd Bacon, and based on the 1905 play by Charles Klein. 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 Vitaphone sound-on-disc system. The film marks the first time Lionel Barrymore, who was on loan out from MGM, spoke from the screen.
A Sailor's Sweetheart is a 1927 Warner Bros. synchronized sound film comedy directed by Lloyd Bacon. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the Vitaphone sound-on-disc process. It stars Louise Fazenda and Clyde Cook.
Vitaphone Varieties is a series title used for all of Warner Bros.', earliest short film "talkies" of the 1920s, initially made using the Vitaphone sound on disc process before a switch to the sound-on-film format early in the 1930s. These were the first major film studio-backed sound films, initially showcased with the 1926 synchronized scored features Don Juan and The Better 'Ole. Although independent producers like Lee de Forest's Phonofilm were successfully making sound film shorts as early as 1922, they were very limited in their distribution and their audio was generally not as loud and clear in theaters as Vitaphone's. The success of the early Vitaphone shorts, initially filmed only in New York, helped launch the sound revolution in Hollywood.
Stark Mad is a 1929 American pre-Code adventure film produced and distributed by Warner Bros., directed by Lloyd Bacon, and starring H. B. Warner, Louise Fazenda, Jacqueline Logan and Henry B. Walthall. This lurid jungle melodrama was an attempt to emulate the then-popular jungle horror films being made at the time by Tod Browning and Lon Chaney. The film was unusual in that it is set in the jungles of Central America rather than Africa.
The Hottentot is a lost 1929 American all-talking sound pre-Code comedy film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Edward Everett Horton and Patsy Ruth Miller. It is based on the 1920 Broadway play The Hottentot by William Collier, Sr. and Victor Mapes.
Frozen River is a lost 1929 sound part-talkie film directed by F. Harmon Weight and starring the canine star Rin Tin Tin and boy actor Davey Lee. 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 Vitaphone sound-on-disc system. Warner Bros. produced and distributed the film.
The Fortune Hunter is a lost 1927 synchronized sound film comedy directed by Charles Reisner and starring Syd Chaplin. It is based on the 1909 Broadway play The Fortune Hunter by Winchell Smith. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the Vitaphone sound-on-disc process. The film was produced by Warner Brothers.
From Headquarters is a 1929 American sound part-talkie adventure drama film directed by Howard Bretherton and starring Monte Blue, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Gladys Brockwell, Lionel Belmore, and Henry B. Walthall. 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 Vitaphone sound-on-disc system. The film was released by Warner Bros. on April 27, 1929.
Ottalie Mark was an American musicologist, copyright consultant, composer, and music editor.