Prisoners (1929 film)

Last updated

Prisoners
Directed by William A. Seiter
Written by Forrest Halsey
Ferenc Molnar(novel:Rabok)
Produced by Walter Morosco
Richard A. Rowland
Starring Corinne Griffith
Ian Keith
Cinematography Lee Garmes
Edited by LeRoy Stone
Distributed by First National Pictures
Release date
May 19, 1929
Running time
87 minutes; 8 reels
CountryUSA
LanguageEnglish

Prisoners is a 1929 American film produced by Walter Morosco and directed by William Seiter for First National Pictures. The screenplay was written by Forrest Halsey, based on the novel by Ferenc Molnar. Lee Garmes was the cinematographer.

Contents

It was released as a part-talking, part-silent feature with Corinne Griffith, James Ford, Bela Lugosi, Ian Keith, and Otto Matiesen. Lugosi, in his first talkie, played Brottos, the owner of a Vienna nightclub. Lugosi was very happy that his first sound film was set in Hungary (where he was born) and that the story was based on a Ferenc Molnar Hungarian novel. While Lugosi was off filming "Prisoners", he was temporarily replaced in the San Francisco "Dracula" stage play by one Frederick Pymm (who normally played Butterworth, the attendant). [1]

The relatively short sound segment (most of the film is subtitled) picks up with the climactic trial sequence. Critics stated "Bela Lugosi makes a very European villain", but were disappointed that Griffith's character is sent off to prison at the end of the film while a "cold-blooded murderer (in one of the subplots) is kept from receiving his just punishment". Corinne Griffith (who was married to producer Morosco) later went on to become a movie producer herself, as well as a very successful novelist. [2] [3]

Plot

Riza Riga, a beautiful young showgirl has led a life of crime, but she wants to go straight. When she falls in love with attorney Nicholas Cathy, she plans to gain his attention by buying a beautiful new dress. But when she realizes she can't afford to buy it, she returns to crime. She steals some money and is caught redhanded, resulting in a criminal trial. Defense lawyer Cathy winds up defending the young girl and falls in love with her in the process. Lugosi as Brottos, the nightclub owner, lurks throughout the film in villainous fashion. In the end, Riza is found guilty and is sentenced to three months in jail, and Nicholas Cathy watches her as she is led off to prison, promising to wait for her faithfully.

Cast

Preservation

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bela Lugosi</span> Hungarian-American actor (1882–1956)

Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó, known professionally as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian–American actor, best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the 1931 horror classic Dracula, Ygor in Son of Frankenstein (1939) and his roles in many other horror films from 1931 through 1956.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lon Chaney Jr.</span> American actor (1905–1974)

Creighton Tull Chaney, known by his stage name Lon Chaney Jr., was an American actor known for playing Larry Talbot in the film The Wolf Man (1941) and its various crossovers, Count Alucard in Son of Dracula, Frankenstein's monster in The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), the Mummy in three pictures, and various other roles in many Universal horror films, including six films in their 1940s Inner Sanctum series, making him a horror icon. He also portrayed Lennie Small in Of Mice and Men (1939) and supporting parts in dozens of mainstream movies, including High Noon (1952), The Defiant Ones (1958), and numerous Westerns, musicals, comedies and dramas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corinne Griffith</span> American actress, film producer, author (1894–1979)

Corinne Griffith was an American film actress, producer, author and businesswoman. Dubbed "The Orchid Lady of the Screen," she was widely regarded as one of the most beautiful actresses of the silent film era. In addition to her beauty, Griffith achieved critical recognition for her performance in Frank Lloyd's The Divine Lady (1929), which earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

The year 1920 in film involved some significant events.

The year 1918 in film involved some significant events.

The year 1916 in film involved some significant events.

The year 1915 in film involved some significant events.

1913 was a particularly fruitful year for film as an art form, and is often cited one of the years in the decade which contributed to the medium the most, along with 1917. The year was one where filmmakers of several countries made great artistic advancements, producing notable pioneering masterpieces such as The Student of Prague, Suspense, Atlantis, Raja Harischandra, Juve contre Fantomas, Quo Vadis?, Ingeborg Holm, The Mothering Heart, Ma l’amor mio non muore!, L’enfant de Paris and Twilight of a Woman's Soul.

The year 1912 in film involved some significant events.

<i>Mark of the Vampire</i> 1935 film by Tod Browning

Mark of the Vampire is a 1935 American horror film, starring Lionel Barrymore, Elizabeth Allan, Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill, and Jean Hersholt, and directed by Tod Browning. A series of deaths and attacks by vampires brings the eminent expert Professor Zelen to the aid of Irena Borotyn, who is about to be married. Her father, Sir Karell, died from complete loss of blood, with bite wounds on his neck, and it appears he may be one of the undead now plaguing the area.

<i>Dracula</i> (1931 English-language film) 1931 film

Dracula is a 1931 American pre-Code supernatural horror film directed and co-produced by Tod Browning from a screenplay written by Garrett Fort and starring Bela Lugosi in the title role. It is based on the 1924 stage play Dracula by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston, which in turn is adapted from the 1897 novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. Lugosi portrays Count Dracula, a vampire who emigrates from Transylvania to England and preys upon the blood of living victims, including a young man's fiancée.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dwight Frye</span> American actor (1899-1943)

Dwight Iliff Frye was an American character actor of stage and screen. He is best known for his portrayals of neurotic, murderous villains in several classic Universal horror films, such as Renfield in Dracula (1931) and Fritz in Frankenstein (1931).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bela Lugosi filmography</span>

Bela Lugosi (1882–1956), best known for the original screen portrayal of Bram Stoker's Dracula in 1931, performed in many films during the course of his 39-year film career. He appeared in films made in his native Hungary, Germany and New York before re-locating to Hollywood in 1928. Films are listed in order of release.

<i>Renegades</i> (1930 film) 1930 film by Victor Fleming

Renegades is a 1930 American pre-Code film directed by Victor Fleming for Fox Film. It stars Warner Baxter, Myrna Loy, and Noah Beery. Jules Furthman based his script on André Armandy's novel Le Renégat. Fleming shot in the Mojave Desert where the extreme heat proved a severe impediment to the production. Bela Lugosi has a relatively small role as the Marabout, a Rif sheik whom Loy's character manipulates, but his character is important to the story. An uncredited Victor Jory in his film debut plays a Legion officer. Critics mostly acclaimed the film as "a great action picture" and "a box office hit" that had to be held over.

<i>The Sorrows of Satan</i> (1926 film) 1926 film

The Sorrows of Satan is a 1926 American silent drama film directed by D. W. Griffith, and based on the 1895 allegorical horror novel The Sorrows of Satan by Marie Corelli.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malcolm McGregor</span> American actor

Malcolm McGregor was an American actor of the silent era. McGregor appeared in more than 50 films between 1922 and 1936. He was born in Newark, New Jersey and died in Hollywood, California.

<i>Oh, For a Man!</i> 1930 film

Oh, For a Man! is a 1930 American black-and-white musical comedy film based on a short story, "Stolen Thunder" by Mary F. Watkins. The original story appeared in The Saturday Evening Post June 7, 1930. Lugosi's character of Frescatti was later added to the screenplay. Well-dressed with a goatee, he resembled his Dr. Benet role in The Invisible Ray (1936) in stills. Since the criminal of the story does not receive just punishment in the end, the producers were years later unable to reissue this film after the establishment of the production code.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alma Tell</span> American actress (1898–1837)

Alma Tell was an American stage and motion picture actress whose career in cinema began in 1915 and lasted into the sound films of the early 1930s.

<i>Outcast</i> (1928 film) 1928 film

Outcast is a 1928 American sound drama film produced and distributed by First National Pictures. This sound film was released with a synchronized Vitaphone soundtrack of music and sound effects. It was directed by William A. Seiter and stars Corinne Griffith, often considered one of the most beautiful women in film. This story had been filmed in 1917 as The World and the Woman with Jeanne Eagels. In 1922 a Paramount film of the same name with Elsie Ferguson reprising her stage role was released. Both films were based on a 1914 play, Outcast, by Hubert Henry Davies which starred Ferguson. The Seiter/Griffith film was an all silent with Vitaphone music and sound effects. In the sound era the story was filmed once again as The Girl from 10th Avenue starring Bette Davis. According to the Library of Congress database shows a print surviving complete at Cineteca Italiana in Milan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Ford (actor)</span>

James Ford was an American actor in silent and sound films.

References

  1. Bela Lugosi (Midnight Marquee Actors Series) by Gary Svehla and Susan Svehla (1995) ISBN 1-887664-01-7 (paperback)
  2. Bela Lugosi (Midnight Marquee Actors Series) by Gary Svehla and Susan Svehla (1995) ISBN 1-887664-01-7 (paperback)
  3. Richard Bojarski - The films of Bela Lugosi - Page 52 1980 SOUND FILMS : PRISONERS First National, 1929. Released as a part-talking, part-silent feature. Directed by William Seiter. With Corinne Griffith, James Ford, Bela Lugosi, Ian Keith, Julanne Johnston, Ann Schaeffer, Barton Hesse and Otto
  4. Bela Lugosi (Midnight Marquee Actors Series) by Gary Svehla and Susan Svehla (1995). pg. 1 . ISBN 1-887664-01-7
  5. The Library of Congress/FIAF American Silent Feature Film Survival Database:Prisoners
  6. Prisoners at silentera.com