Vitagraph Studios, also known as the Vitagraph Company of America, was a United States motion picture studio. It was founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York, as the American Vitagraph Company. By 1907, it was the most prolific American film production company, producing many famous silent films. It was bought by Warner Bros. in 1925.
Dolores Costello was an American film actress who achieved her greatest success during the era of silent movies. She was nicknamed "The Goddess of the Silent Screen" by her first husband, the actor John Barrymore. She was the mother of John Drew Barrymore and grandmother of actress and talk show host Drew Barrymore.
Helene Costello was an American stage and film actress, most notably of the silent era.
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.
Cain and Mabel is a 1936 American romantic comedy film directed by Lloyd Bacon and designed as a vehicle for Marion Davies in which she co-stars with Clark Gable. The story had been filmed before, in 1924, by William Randolph Hearst's production company, Cosmopolitan, as a silent called The Great White Way, starring Anita Stewart and Oscar Shaw. In this version, Robert Paige introduced the song "I'll Sing You a Thousand Love Songs", with music by Harry Warren and words by Al Dubin, who also wrote "Coney Island", "Here Comes Chiquita", and other songs.
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.
The Sea Beast is a 1926 American silent drama film directed by Millard Webb, starring John Barrymore, Dolores Costello and George O'Hara. The film was a major commercial success and one of the biggest pictures of 1926 becoming Warner Brothers' highest grossing film. The Sea Beast is the first adaptation of Herman Melville's 1851 novel Moby-Dick, a story about a monomaniacal hunt for a great white whale. However, the film alters the novel's plotline by establishing prequel and sequel elements that are not in the original story—such as the romancing of Esther and Ahab's safe return, respectively—and substitutes a happy ending for Melville's original tragic one. Some of the characters in the film do not appear in Melville's original novel. The film was so successful that in 1930 Warner Bros redid it in English and German, under the title Moby Dick, with Joan Bennett taking the role of Ahab's love because Dolores Costello was pregnant at the time.
The Trail of '98 is a 1928 American synchronized sound action-adventure/drama film featuring Harry Carey and Dolores del Río about the Klondike Gold Rush. 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. The film was originally released by MGM in a short-lived widescreen process called "Fantom Screen". The film is based on the 1910 novel of the same name, written by Robert W. Service.
The Green Pastures is a 1936 American film depicting stories from the Bible as visualized by black characters. It starred Rex Ingram, Oscar Polk, and Eddie "Rochester" Anderson. It was based on the 1928 novel Ol' Man Adam an' His Chillun by Roark Bradford and the 1930 Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name by Marc Connelly.
Noah's Ark is a 2007 Argentine-Italian animated comedy film directed by Juan Pablo Buscarini. Based on the biblical story of Noah's Ark, its story is told from the animals' point of view. The film tends to follow the traditional story, with the animals being anthropomorphic.
Noah's Ark is a 1999 American-Australian television miniseries directed by John Irvin and starring Jon Voight, Mary Steenburgen, F. Murray Abraham, Carol Kane, Jonathan Cake, Alexis Denisof, Emily Mortimer, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, and James Coburn. The film is a fictional adaptation of Noah's Ark from the Book of Genesis. It was initially televised in the United States, that same year, was also televised in Canada, Germany and Portugal, among other countries.
Tenderloin is a 1928 American sound part-talkie crime film directed by Michael Curtiz, and starring Dolores Costello. 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. It was produced and released by Warner Bros. Tenderloin is considered a lost film, with no prints currently known to exist.
Madonna of Avenue A is a 1929 American pre-Code drama film directed by Michael Curtiz. It was produced and distributed by Warner Bros. It starred Dolores Costello in one of her first sound films. This is reportedly a lost film.
Hearts in Exile is a 1929 American pre-Code romance film produced and distributed by Warner Bros. and directed by Michael Curtiz. It was also released in a silent version with music and effects. It starred Dolores Costello in a story based on the 1904 novel by John Oxenham. An earlier 1915 film starring Clara Kimball Young was also produced, and is extant, but the 1929 version is considered to be a lost film.
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 Heart of Maryland (1927) is a silent film costume Vitaphone drama produced and distributed by Warner Bros. and directed by Lloyd Bacon. The film stars Dolores Costello as the title character, and features Jason Robards, Sr. It is based on David Belasco's 1895 play The Heart of Maryland performed on Broadway. The film is the last silent version of the oft-filmed Victorian story, other versions having been produced in 1915 and 1921.
The Little Irish Girl is a 1926 American silent romantic drama film produced and distributed by Warner Bros., directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Dolores Costello. Based on the story The Grifters, written by Edith Joan Lyttleton, it is considered to be a lost film.
The College Widow is a 1927 American silent comedy film produced and distributed by Warner Bros. and directed by Archie Mayo. The film is based on the 1904 Broadway play of the same name by George Ade and was previously adapted to film in 1915 with Ethel Clayton. The 1927 silent film version is a starring vehicle for Dolores Costello.
Broken Hearts of Hollywood is a 1926 American silent comedy drama film released by Warner Bros. and directed by Lloyd Bacon. It is unknown, but the film might have been released with a Vitaphone soundtrack. A print of the film exists.
