Romance of the Underworld

Last updated

Romance of the Underworld
Romance of the Underworld poster.jpg
Film poster
Directed by Irving Cummings
Written by Douglas Z. Doty (screenplay)
Garrett Graham (intertitles)
Story by Douglas Z. Doty
Sidney Lanfield
Based onA Romance of the Underworld
by Paul Armstrong
Produced by William Fox
Starring Mary Astor
Cinematography Conrad Wells
Edited byFrank Hull
Distributed by Fox Film Corporation
Release date
  • November 11, 1928 (1928-11-11)
Running time
68 minutes; 7 reels (6,162 feet)
CountryUnited States
LanguagesSound (Synchronized)
(English Intertitles)

Romance of the Underworld is a 1928 American synchronized sound drama film produced and distributed by Fox Film Corporation. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the sound-on-film movietone process. Directed by Irving Cummings and starring Mary Astor, it was based upon a stage play called A Romance of the Underworld by Paul Armstrong. A previous version of the story was filmed as A Romance of the Underworld in 1918 by director James Kirkwood with Catherine Calvert in Astor's part.

Contents

Poster for the 1918 film Romance of the Underworld 1918.jpg
Poster for the 1918 film

Plot

Cast

Scene from the movie Romance of the Underworld (SAYRE 14175).jpg
Scene from the movie

Uncredited

Music

The film featured a theme song titled "Judy", which was composed by Irving Kahal, Sammy Fain, and Pierre Norman.

Censorship considerations

The Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, formed by the film industry in 1922, regulated the content of films through a list of subjects that were to be avoided. While Mary Astor portrayed a prostitute in Romance of the Underworld, this was acceptable as prostitution was not explicitly barred so long as it was not forced (i.e., white slavery) and aspects of her work was not shown in the film. [1] Here the work of Astor's character is ambiguously described as being a "hostess."

Preservation

Romance of the Underworld is extant at the Museum of Modern Art. [2] [3] And also in a European archive. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Glorious Betsy</i> 1928 film

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.

<i>Don Juan</i> (1926 film) 1926 film by Alan Crosland

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. 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.

<i>The Rough Riders</i> (film) 1927 film by Victor Fleming

The Rough Riders is a 1927 American silent drama film directed by Victor Fleming, released by Paramount Pictures, and starring Noah Beery, Sr., Charles Farrell, George Bancroft, and Mary Astor. Due to the public apathy towards silent films, a sound version was also prepared early in 1928. While the sound version 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 picture is fictional account of Theodore Roosevelt's military unit in Cuba. This film had an alternate release title, The Trumpet Call. The cinematography was by James Wong Howe and E. Burton Steene.

<i>The Awakening</i> (1928 film) 1928 film

The Awakening is a 1928 American synchronized sound feature film directed by Victor Fleming and starring Vilma Bánky. 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 based on a story by Frances Marion.

<i>Lady of the Pavements</i> 1929 film

Lady of the Pavements is a 1929 American sound part-talkie romantic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lupe Vélez, William Boyd, and Jetta Goudal. The screenplay was written by Sam Taylor, with contributions from an uncredited Gerrit Lloyd. While the film has a few talking sequences, the majority of the film features a synchronized musical score with sound effects using both the sound-on-disc and sound-on-film process.

<i>Hearts in Exile</i> (1929 film) 1929 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.

<i>White Shadows in the South Seas</i> 1928 film

White Shadows in the South Seas is a 1928 American synchronized sound film adventure romance directed by W.S. Van Dyke and starring Monte Blue and Raquel Torres. It was produced by Cosmopolitan Productions in association with MGM and distributed by MGM. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the sound-on-film Western Electric Sound System process. Loosely based on the travel book of the same name by Frederick O'Brien. This film is important historically for being the first sound MGM film to be released as it featured a pre-recorded soundtrack. Clyde De Vinna won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography.

<i>Uncle Toms Cabin</i> (1927 film) 1927 film

Uncle Tom's Cabin is a 1927 American synchronized sound drama film directed by Harry A. Pollard and released by Universal Pictures. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the Western Electric sound-on-film process. The film is based on the 1852 novel Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe and was the last silent version filmed.

<i>Ginsberg the Great</i> 1927 film by Byron Haskin

Ginsberg the Great is a lost 1927 synchronized sound film starring George Jessel in the period in which he made films with 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.

<i>The Cop</i> (1928 film) 1928 film

The Cop is a 1928 American silent drama film directed by Donald Crisp. Due to the public apathy towards silent films, a sound version was also prepared. While the sound version 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. At the 2nd Academy Awards in 1930, Elliott J. Clawson was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Writing. Prints of the film exist in several film archives including the Library of Congress.

<i>To the Ladies</i> 1923 film by James Cruze

To the Ladies is a 1923 American silent comedy film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and released by Paramount Pictures. It is based on a 1922 Broadway play, To the Ladies, by George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly.

<i>The Woman from Hell</i> 1929 film

The Woman from Hell, known in some markets as The Woman from Luna or The Woman of Damnation, is a 1929 American sound film drama produced and distributed by Fox Film Corporation and starring Mary Astor. Although the film had no dialogue, it featured a synchronized Movietone sound track of music and sound effects. This was Dean Jagger's film debut. It is considered to be a lost film.

<i>Rose of the Golden West</i> 1927 film by George Fitzmaurice

Rose of the Golden West is a surviving 1927 American silent romantic drama film produced by Richard A. Rowland and released by First National Pictures. It was directed by George Fitzmaurice and starred Mary Astor and Gilbert Roland.

<i>A Sailors Sweetheart</i> 1927 film

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.

New Year's Eve is a lost 1929 sound film drama produced and distributed by Fox Film Corporation and starring Mary Astor and Charles Morton. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the sound-on-film movietone process. Veteran Henry Lehrman, who had worked with Mack Sennett and Charlie Chaplin, was the director. Samuel L. Rothafel wrote the music for film. As was the case for the majority of films during the early sound era, a silent version was prepared for theatres who had not yet converted to sound. Max Gold was an assistant director.

<i>Dry Martini</i> (film) 1928 film

Dry Martini is a 1928 synchronized sound film comedy produced and distributed by Fox Film Corporation starring Mary Astor and Matt Moore. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the sound-on-film movietone process. Samuel L. Rothafel also contributed music for the film. It was adapted from the 1926 novel Dry Martini: a Gentleman Turns to Love by John Thomas. Ray Flynn was an assistant director.

<i>Jaws of Steel</i> 1927 film by Ray Enright

Jaws of Steel is a 1927 American synchronized sound family adventure film directed by Ray Enright and featuring dog star Rin Tin Tin and Jason Robards, Sr. 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. Warner Bros. produced and distributed the film. Darryl Zanuck, under the alias Gregory Rogers, wrote the story.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Kelly (actor)</span> American actor (1901–1947)

John F. Kelly was an American actor whose career spanned the very end of the silent film era through the 1940s. While most of his parts were smaller, often-uncredited roles, he was occasionally given a more substantial supporting or even featured role.

<i>Finders Keepers</i> (1928 film) 1928 film

Finders Keepers is an extant 1928 American silent military comedy film directed by Wesley Ruggles and Otis B. Thayer and starring Laura La Plante and John Harron. Due to the public apathy towards silent films, a sound version was prepared late in 1928. While the sound version has no audible dialog, it features a synchronized musical score with sound effects using both the sound-on-disc and sound-on-film process. It was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures. The film may or may not be a remake of a 1921 film Finders Keepers singularly directed by Thayer.

Brass Knuckles is a surviving 1927 synchronized sound crime film directed by Lloyd Bacon and starring Monte Blue, Betty Bronson and William Russell. 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 and distributed by Warner Brothers Pictures.

References

  1. Campbell, Russell (1997). "Prostitution and Film Censorship in the USA" . Screening the Past (2): C/6. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  2. Progressive Silent Film List: Romance of the Underworld at silentera.com
  3. The American Film Institute Catalog Feature Films: 1921-30 by The American Film Institute, c. 1971
  4. The Library of Congress/FIAF American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog:Romance of the Underworld