Drifting | |
---|---|
Directed by | Tod Browning |
Written by | Tod Browning A. P. Younger |
Based on | Drifting (play) by John Colton Daisy H. Andrews |
Produced by | Carl Laemmle |
Starring | Priscilla Dean Matt Moore Wallace Beery |
Cinematography | William Fildew |
Edited by | Errol Taggart |
Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 70 minutes |
Country | United States |
Languages | Silent Intertitles by Gardner Bradford |
Drifting is a 1923 American silent drama film based on the Broadway play Drifting, by John Colton and Daisy H. Andrews. The play had starred Robert Warwick and Alice Brady. The film was directed by Tod Browning and features Priscilla Dean, Wallace Beery, and Anna May Wong. It was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures. [1]
Cassie Cook has been selling opium in Shanghai but bad luck has compelled her to team up with her biggest rival, Jules Repin. The horror of the opium trade weighs on her and she determines to quit the trade and leave China before it is too late. Believing in Repin's promise that he has a big shipment of opium coming in, she has bought a lot of new gowns on credit and is unable to pay for them. She also needs money to pay for passage home for a friend, Molly Morton, whose growing opium habit has left her an invalid.
After betting on a "sure thing" in the races and losing, Cassie determines to make her way to Hang Chow, a trouble-infested village near the poppy fields, to try to trace the opium shipment Repin expected. There she finds Captain Arthur Jarvis, who is supposed to be opening an abandoned mine but is in fact a government inspector seeking the den of the dope dealers. Cassie poses as a novelist, and Jarvis, who is attracted to her, reveals his true mission. Cassie, who has fallen in love with Jarvis, is on the verge of telling him all when Repin and his Chinese confederates arrive and stir up local rebels against Jarvis. The rebels attack and set fire to the settlement. Repin, on the verge of killing Jarvis, is shot by Rose Li, the daughter of one of Repin's associates, who is also in love with Jarvis. Jarvis and Cassie escape, taking with them the young son of a missionary.
Copies of Drifting are located in the Gosfilmofond of Moscow and in the George Eastman House Motion Picture Collection. [2] In 2012 the National Film Preservation Foundation awarded a grant to preserve a print that has Czech language intertitles which were translated back into English. [3] [4]
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.
Wong Liu Tsong, known professionally as Anna May Wong, was an American actress, considered the first Chinese American film star in Hollywood, as well as the first Chinese American actress to gain international recognition. Her varied career spanned silent film, sound film, television, stage, and radio.
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The Toll of the Sea is a 1922 American silent drama film directed by Chester M. Franklin, produced by the Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation, released by Metro Pictures, and featuring Anna May Wong in her first leading role. The film was written by Frances Marion and directed by Chester M. Franklin, with the lead roles played by Wong and Kenneth Harlan. The plot was a variation of the Madama Butterfly story, set in China instead of Japan.
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The Virgin of Stamboul is a 1920 American silent adventure drama film directed by Tod Browning and starring husband and wife team Priscilla Dean and Wheeler Oakman and featuring Wallace Beery in a supporting role.
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Bits of Life is a 1921 American film produced and directed by Marshall Neilan. The cast included Lon Chaney and Noah Beery, Sr. For her performance in this film, Anna May Wong received her first screen credit. It is notable as an early anthology film, comprising four short stories: “The Bad Samaritan” by Thomas McMorrow, “The Man Who Heard Everything” by Walter Trumbull, “Hop” by Hugh Wiley, and “The Intrigue” by Marshall Neilan. The four stories were unrelated, shot with different casts, by different directors, and at different times. The poster called the format "The Magazine Idea brought to the screen". The film's tagline was "The Social World! The Underworld! and San Francisco's Chinatown!".
Java Head is a 1934 British historical drama film directed by J. Walter Ruben and an uncredited Thorold Dickinson. It stars Anna May Wong, Elizabeth Allan and Ralph Richardson.
Java Head is a 1923 American silent romantic drama film directed by George Melford and starring Leatrice Joy, Jacqueline Logan, Frederick Strong, Alan Roscoe, and Betty Bronson in a bit part. It is based on a popular novel of the same name by Joseph Hergesheimer, which in turn is named after the geographical feature.
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.
The Love That Lives is a 1917 American silent drama film produced by Famous Players Film Company and distributed through Paramount Pictures. The film stars Pauline Frederick and was directed by Robert G. Vignola. The film is based on the story "Flames of Sacrifice", by Scudder Middleton.
Shame is a 1921 American film directed by Emmett J. Flynn. It is based on the story Clung by Max Brand, which appeared in the magazine All Story Weekly. This black and white silent film was distributed and produced by Fox Film Corporation. It is considered a drama and has a runtime of 90 mins. It is presumed to be a lost film.
The Call of the East is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by George Melford and written by Beulah Marie Dix. The film stars Sessue Hayakawa, Tsuru Aoki, Jack Holt, Margaret Loomis, James Cruze, and Ernest Joy. The film was released on October 15, 1917, by Paramount Pictures.
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Edna Frances Tichenor was an American film actress whose career was most prominent in the silent film era of the 1920s, affecting an onscreen vamp persona. She is perhaps best recalled for three roles in director Tod Browning's films: the 1923 drama Drifting, the silent horror film London After Midnight, and the drama The Show, both released in 1927.