Never the Twain Shall Meet | |
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![]() Film still | |
Directed by | Maurice Tourneur |
Written by | Peter B. Kyne Eugene Mullin |
Produced by | Louis B. Mayer Irving Thalberg |
Starring | Anita Stewart Bert Lytell |
Cinematography | Ira H. Morgan J.B. Shackelford |
Edited by | W. Donn Hayes |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
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Running time | 80 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
Never the Twain Shall Meet is a 1925 American silent South Seas drama film based on the book by Peter B. Kyne, produced by MGM and directed by Maurice Tourneur, [1] starring Anita Stewart and featuring Boris Karloff in an uncredited bit part. It was remade as talking picture in 1931 at MGM by director W. S. Van Dyke. This is one of Tourneur's many lost and sought after films. [2] [3]
As described in a film magazine review, [4] Tamea, whose mother was Polynesian and her father French, leaves the island where her father governs and goes with him on a trade trip to San Francisco. When they arrive in port, the health officers find that the father is a leper, and he jumps into the water and is drowned. Tamea is taken to the home of Dan Pritchard, the junior partner of the firm that her father traded through. With his friend Mark Mellenger, Dan tries to show the visiter a good time around town. Although Dan is engaged to Maisie Morrison, a young society woman, his affections are drawn to Tamea. When she hastily leaves for home, Dan follows her. She falls violently in love with him and they are married according to the native custom of the island. The South Seas gets into his blood and Dan falls into moral dissolution. Mark arrives on the island to visit him with Maisie in tow. Dan returns to San Francisco and marries Maisie while Mark on the island to comfort Tamea.
William Henry Pratt, known professionally as Boris Karloff and occasionally billed as Karloff the Uncanny, was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film Frankenstein (1931), his 82nd film, established him as a horror icon, and he reprised the role for the sequels Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939). He also appeared as Imhotep in The Mummy (1932), and voiced the Grinch in, as well as narrating, the animated television special of Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966), which won him a Grammy Award.
The Last of the Mohicans is a 1920 American silent adventure drama film written by Robert A. Dillon, adapted from James Fenimore Cooper's 1826 novel of the same name. Clarence Brown and Maurice Tourneur co-directed the film. It is a story of two English sisters meeting danger on the frontier of the American colonies, in and around the fort commanded by their father. The adventure film stars Wallace Beery, Barbara Bedford, Lillian Hall, Alan Roscoe and Boris Karloff in one of his earliest silent film roles. Barbara Bedford later married her co-star in the film, Alan Roscoe in real life. The production was shot near Big Bear Lake and in Yosemite Valley.
Maurice Félix Thomas, known as Maurice Tourneur, was a French film director and screenwriter.
Val Lewton was a Ukrainian-American novelist, film producer and screenwriter best known for a string of low-budget horror films he produced for RKO Pictures in the 1940s. His son, also named Val Lewton, was a painter and exhibition designer.
Jean Rogers was an American actress who starred in serial films in the 1930s and low–budget feature films in the 1940s as a leading lady. She is best remembered for playing Dale Arden in the science-fiction serials Flash Gordon (1936) and Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars (1938).
Boris Karloff (1887-1969) was an English actor. He became known for his role as Frankenstein's monster in the 1931 Frankenstein, leading to a long career in film, radio, and television.
Anita Stewart was an American actress and film producer of the early silent film era.
Lionel Belmore was an English character actor and director on stage for more than a quarter of a century.
Love is a 1927 American silent drama film directed by Edmund Goulding and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. A sound version of the film was released in 1928 with a synchronized musical score with sound effects. MGM made the film to capitalize on its winning romantic team of Greta Garbo and John Gilbert who had starred in the 1926 blockbuster Flesh and the Devil.
Lillian Rose Rich was an English-born actress of the silent era. She appeared in more than 60 films between 1919 and 1940.
Mitchell Lewis was an American film actor whose career as a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player encompassed both silent and sound films.
Roy Paul Harvey was an American character actor who appeared in at least 177 films.
Joan Standing was an English actress best known for playing Nurse Briggs in the 1931 horror film Dracula. She appeared in more than 60 films from 1919 to 1940.
The Gentleman from America is a 1923 American silent comedy film directed by Edward Sedgwick and featuring Hoot Gibson and Louise Lorraine. It also featured a young Boris Karloff in an uncredited bit part. The screenplay was written by George C. Hull, based on a story by Raymond L. Schrock. The film's tagline was "This might be called the story of a fighting American in sunny Spain - with flashing senoritas and romance in the background! It's something new for Hoot Gibson - but you'll like it, and so will your patrons!" It is considered a lost film.
The Prairie Wife is a 1925 American silent Western film directed by Hugo Ballin and featuring Boris Karloff, and based on a story by Arthur Stringer. The film is considered to be lost.
Valencia, also known as The Love Song, is a 1926 American silent romance film directed by Dimitri Buchowetzki, who came over from Paramount to direct. The film stars Mae Murray and features Boris Karloff in an uncredited role. The film was a box office hit and the title song, Valencia, was the top song in the U.S. for the year.
Sharp Shooters is a 1928 American silent comedy film directed by John G. Blystone and starring George O'Brien, Lois Moran, and Noah Young. A print survives in the UCLA Film and Television Archive. Sharp Shooters contains uncredited performances by Boris Karloff and Randolph Scott in his first film appearance.
Voodoo Island is a 1957 American horror film directed by Reginald Le Borg and written by Richard H. Landau. The film stars Boris Karloff, with a cast including Elisha Cook Jr., Beverly Tyler and Rhodes Reason. It is set in the South Pacific and was filmed on Kauai, Hawaii back to back with Jungle Heat. Adam West appears in a small pre-"Batman" uncredited role.
Never the Twain Shall Meet is a 1931 American drama film produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and starring Leslie Howard and Conchita Montenegro. It is based on the novel of the same title by Peter B. Kyne. The film was directed by W. S. Van Dyke and was filmed in Tahiti like Van Dyke's two previous south sea adventures The Pagan and White Shadows in the South Seas. The film is a remake of a 1925 silent film of the same name.
Ben Lewis (1894–1970) was an American film editor who worked in Hollywood for several decades. He was employed by MGM for many years, beginning his career with them in the silent era. An early credit was for Quality Street (1927) starring Marion Davies.