$1 million (domestic)[3] $7 million (international)[3]
Sadie Thompson is a 1928 American silentdrama film that tells the story of a "fallen woman" who comes to Pago Pago to start a new life, but encounters a zealous missionary who wants to force her back to her former life in San Francisco. The film stars Gloria Swanson, Lionel Barrymore, and Raoul Walsh, and it is one of Swanson's more successful films. Due to the public's apathy towards silent films, a sound version was prepared in the latter half of 1928. While the sound version has no audible dialog, it features a synchronized musical score with sound effects along with a theme song.
Due to the subject matter, the making of the film was extremely controversial. However, it was a financial and critical success for Swanson. The film was based on the 1921 short story "Rain" by W. Somerset Maugham and the 1922 play, based on the story, by John Colton and Clemence Randolph, starring Jeanne Eagels.
Plot
A smoking, drinking, jazz listening, young prostitute named Sadie Thompson (Gloria Swanson) arrives at Pago Pago (American Samoa), on her way to a job with a shipping line on another island. At the same time, 'moralists' arrive, including Mr. and Mrs. Davidson (Lionel Barrymore and Blanche Friderici). They all end up staying in the same hotel, where the Davidsons plot to teach the natives about sin and Sadie entertains a bunch of Marines.
Sadie begins to fall in love with Sergeant Timothy O'Hara (Raoul Walsh), who is not fazed by her past. He tells her that he has a best friend who married a former prostitute, and the couple now lives happily in Australia.
Davidson sets about trying to redeem Sadie, much to her disgust. He tricks her into telling him about her past in San Francisco, and once she refuses to repent, he declares that he will go to the governor and have her deported. Sadie is terrified of the threat, but O'Hara assures her that it will not happen. He tells her he wishes she would go to Australia and wait for his term of service to finish, after which they can get married. She agrees.
Davidson gets his way, however, and Sadie is livid. She and O'Hara go to the governor, begging him to let her go to Australia instead of back to San Francisco. Davidson has managed to get O'Hara punished for being immoral, but Sadie will be able to go to Australia if Davidson approves. Sadie pleads with him, but to no avail. She eventually confesses that, if she goes back to San Francisco, there is "a man there who won't let her go straight", which is what she wants to do. Davidson figures out this statement means that there is a warrant for her arrest back in San Francisco. Sadie claims that she was framed and she is innocent, but will go to prison if she is sent back.
Davidson still refuses, saying she must atone for her past. Sadie pleads and pleads and eventually offers to repent. Davidson, however, says that the only way to fully repent is for her to go to prison. Sadie runs to her room, crying out for Davidson. Davidson returns, and Sadie confesses she is afraid. Davidson then tells her that, if she repents, there will be nothing to fear and he begins to pray with her. Sadie converts to Christianity.
Sadie prays for three whole days. She has put away her old things and has become a modest woman. O'Hara returns and finds Davidson is gone, apparently "trying to stop the locals from dancing on the beach". O'Hara tells Sadie that he has a fishing boat waiting to take her and her things to a ship that will then take her to Australia, where they can marry and be free. Sadie is extremely afraid and refuses to go, saying that the "old Sadie is dead" and she must go to San Francisco and prison to repent.
O'Hara does everything he can, including forcibly taking her from the room, but Davidson is waiting outside. O'Hara tries to attack him, but Sadie asks him to stop. O'Hara, extremely upset, leaves and Sadie pleads with Davidson not to get him in trouble, for "it was all her fault".
Later that night, Sadie is asleep, and everyone else is heading to bed. Davidson can not sleep and goes out for a walk in the rain. (It has rained almost continuously.) His wife says he cannot sleep for "the unpleasant dreams he's been having about Miss Thompson". A fellow boarder suspects they are not "all that unpleasant". Outside, Davidson struggles with himself and realizes that he is sexually attracted to Sadie and that he is unable to handle it. He looks into her window and eventually returns to his room.
Sadie, frightened because she heard noises, is waiting in Davidson's room. Davidson is shocked and sends her back to her room.
The last reel of the film is missing, but the story as originally filmed was that the fishermen find Davidson's body. He has committed suicide. Sadie and O'Hara reconcile and head for Australia.
The sound version featured a theme song entitled “Good Time Sadie” by Seymour Simons.
Production
Gloria Swanson as Sadie Thompson
In 1927, Swanson released The Love of Sunya her first independent film for United Artists, which was filmed on her terms in New York City, and it was the opening night film of the Roxy Theatre. The production had been a disaster, and Swanson felt it would receive a mediocre reception at best.[4] On the advice of Joseph Schenck, she relented and returned to Hollywood to prepare for a new picture.[5] Feeling she would never have as much artistic freedom and independence as she had at that moment, Swanson decided she "wanted to make my Gold Rush," referring to a recent film by Charlie Chaplin, which became perhaps his most celebrated work. Schenck pleaded with her to do a commercially successful film like The Last of Mrs. Cheyney. Swanson felt it too formulaic and decided to call upon director Raoul Walsh, who was signed with Fox Film Corporation at the time.[6]
Walsh had been known for bringing controversial material to film. At their first meeting, Swanson suggested a film based on the John Colton and Clemence Randolph play Rain (1923), which in turn was based on the story by W. Somerset Maugham titled "Miss Thompson" (1921). Swanson had seen Jeanne Eagels perform the role on stage twice and enjoyed it.[7]
However, because of its content, the play was on the 'unofficial blacklist' and had quietly been banned from being made into a film a year earlier.[8] To try to avoid issues with the code, Swanson and Walsh decided to leave out profanity, rename 'Reverend Davidson' to 'Mr. Davidson', and claim it was for the sake of morality to produce the picture, as Irving Thalberg had produced The Scarlet Letter (1926) at MGM.[9]
Swanson invited Will Hays for lunch and summarized the plot, naming the author and the sticking points. According to Swanson, Hays made a verbal promise that he would have no problem with the making of such a film. Swanson set about getting the rights to the play by having Schenck pretend to buy it in the name of United Artists, never to be used. Thus they were able to get the story rights for $60,000 instead of the original $100,000.[10] When news broke as to just what was intended with the play, the three authors threatened to sue.[5][8] Swanson later contacted Maugham requesting that he write an original story that served as a sequel. The sequel would involve following what became of Sadie in Australia. Maugham agreed to write a new story (for $100,000) but a sequel never was made.[11]
Swanson and Walsh set about writing the script,[12] and discreetly placed an ad announcing the film, thinking no one noticed, as Charles Lindbergh had just made his historic flight. However, the press picked up on it and sensationalized the story.[8] United Artists received a threatening two-page telegram from the MPAA, signed by all its members including Fox (Walsh's studio) and Hays himself.[2] In addition, the rest of the signers owned several thousand movies houses and if they refused to screen the film, it could be a financial disaster.[13] It was the first time Swanson had heard the name of Joseph P. Kennedy, with whom she later had an affair and who financed her next few pictures, including Queen Kelly (1929).[14]
Swanson was angered by the response, as she felt those very studios had produced "questionable" films themselves and were jealous at not having the chance to produce Rain.[15] After another threatening telegram, she decided to first appeal to MPAA and then the newspapers.[16] She only heard back from Marcus Loew, who promised to appeal on her behalf, and his owning a chain of theatres eased some of her concerns. Figuring the silence meant the matter had been dropped, Swanson began filming on Sadie Thompson, which already had $250,000 invested in it.[17]
Before casting began, 17-year-old Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. wanted to audition for the role of Handsome O'Hara. However, Swanson felt he was too young and not right for the role.[18]Lionel Barrymore had been first picked to play Davidson, but was thought to be too ill at the time, but he did win the role. Barrymore wore the same outfit for an entire week, aggravating Swanson. She asked some of the crew to tell him to change and wash, which he did.[19] Swanson was happy with his performance. Walsh had not acted in front of a camera in eight years and feared he would not be able to both direct and act at the same time. However, two days into filming, his fears were quelled.[20]
Gloria Swanson and director Raoul Walsh on the set of film Sadie Thompson
Filming took place on Santa Catalina Island, near Long Beach, California. Swanson took ill shortly after and met a doctor who started her lifelong love of macrobiotic diets.[21] A week into shooting, Sam Goldwyn called cameraman George Barnes away. Swanson was furious, but the loan contract allowed Goldwyn to call him away as he pleased. Not wanting to let a hundred extras sit around for days, Swanson and Walsh tried to hire two other cameramen, but both were unsatisfactory. Mary Pickford offered the services of Charles Rosher, her favorite cameraman, but despite doing a decent job, he could not match Barnes' work.[22] Through Loew, MGM loaned Oliver Marsh, who completed the picture.[23]
The entire cameraman problem was extremely costly to the production, yet the picture continued. With the picture half-finished, it was already way over budget, and Schenck was wary, as Swanson's first picture also had been over budget and underperformed. Swanson talked with her advisers and sold her farm at Croton-on-Hudson, and she offered to sell her New York penthouse as well.[23]
Despite reports that dirty words can be read on the characters' lips, Swanson claims the censors went over everything meticulously.[24] However, Swanson admitted one line while she was shouting at Davidson went "You'd rip the wings off of a butterfly, you son of a bitch!, when recounting a conversation with Walsh later in life.[25] If the word "rain" was used in a title card, the censors asked that it be removed. They also wanted to change Davidson's name to something else, but Swanson and Walsh refused.[24]
It was the first time Raoul Walsh had acted in 15 years, and it was his last appearance before the camera. He directed and was to star in his next project In Old Arizona. While on location for that film a jackrabbit jumped through the windshield of his car, and he lost his right eye in the resulting crash. He gave up acting and went on to an illustrious career as a director.[26]
Release and reception
Sadie Thompson Lobby Card 1928
Upon its release, critics praised the movie and Swanson's performance.[27] Contemporary film critics have cited Swanson's performance as one of her best.[28][29]
The film was a financial and critical success, and it was the only silent, independent film of Swanson's to do well at the box office. In fact, it was one of her financially successful films, along with the sound films The Trespasser and Sunset Blvd.[30] It made $1 million in the United States and $7 million internationally.[3] However, at Kennedy's advice, Swanson had sold her distribution rights for the film to Schenck because Kennedy felt it would be a commercial failure. He also did not care for the image Swanson portrayed in the film. By this point, Queen Kelly had been a disaster, and Swanson regretted it.[31]
The film made the top 10 best pictures of the year list as well.[31]
The film was thought to have been lost for years. After Swanson's death in 1983, the sole known surviving print of the film was discovered by her estate; it had been stored in Mary Pickford's personal archive.[34] By that time, the final reel had become damaged.[34] The film was bought by Kino International, which hired Dennis Doros to reconstruct the final reel. Doros used the original title sequences, still photos and footage from the 1932 adaptation (which cinematographer Oliver T. Marsh also shot) to substitute for the lost footage.[34] A new score by Joseph Turrin was composed for the film.[35]
Gloria Josephine Mae Swanson was an American actress. She first achieved fame acting in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, most famously for her 1950 turn in Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard, which also earned her a Golden Globe Award.
The Trespasser is a 1929 American pre-Code film written and directed by Edmund Goulding and starring Gloria Swanson, Robert Ames, Purnell Pratt, Henry B. Walthall, and Wally Albright. The film was released by United Artists in both silent and sound versions.
Raoul Walsh was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), and the brother of silent screen actor George Walsh. He was known for portraying John Wilkes Booth in the silent film The Birth of a Nation (1915) and for directing such films as the widescreen epic The Big Trail (1930) starring John Wayne in his first leading role, The Roaring Twenties starring James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart, High Sierra (1941) starring Ida Lupino and Humphrey Bogart, and White Heat (1949) starring James Cagney and Edmond O'Brien. He directed his last film in 1964. His work has been noted as influences on directors such as Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Jack Hill, and Martin Scorsese.
Queen Kelly is an American silent film produced in 1928–29 and released by United Artists. The film was directed by Erich von Stroheim, starred Gloria Swanson, in the title role, Walter Byron as her lover, and Seena Owen. The film was produced by Joseph P. Kennedy, who was Swanson's lover at the time.
Rain is a 1932 pre-Code drama film that stars Joan Crawford as prostitute Sadie Thompson. Directed by Lewis Milestone and set in the South Seas, the production was filmed in part at Santa Catalina Island and what is now Crystal Cove State Park in California. The film also features Walter Huston in the role of a conflicted missionary who insists that Sadie end her evil ways, but whose own moral standards and self-righteous behavior steadily decay. Crawford was loaned out by MGM to United Artists for this film.
The Love of Sunya is a 1927 American silent drama film directed by Albert Parker and based on the play The Eyes of Youth by Max Marcin and Charles Guernon. Produced by and starring Gloria Swanson, it also stars John Boles and Pauline Garon. A copy of The Love of Sunya survives in the Paul Killiam collection.
Miss Sadie Thompson is a 1953 3-D American musical romantic drama film directed by Curtis Bernhardt and starring Rita Hayworth, José Ferrer, and Aldo Ray. The film was released by Columbia Pictures. The film is based on W. Somerset Maugham's 1921 short story "Miss Thompson". Other film versions include Sadie Thompson (1928) starring Gloria Swanson, Rain (1932) starring Joan Crawford, and Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A. (1946).
The Affairs of Anatol is a 1921 American silent comedy-drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Wallace Reid and Gloria Swanson. The film is based on the 1893 play Anatol by Arthur Schnitzler. It was adapted by Jeanie MacPherson for the screen with assistance from Beulah Marie Dix and Elmer Harris. Art direction for the film was done by Paul Iribe.
Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A. is a 1946 race film directed by Spencer Williams and produced and distributed by Sack Amusement Enterprises.
A Society Scandal is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Allan Dwan, and starring Gloria Swanson and Rod La Rocque. Distributed by Paramount Pictures, the film is based on a 1922 play The Laughing Lady, by Alfred Sutro which starred Ethel Barrymore in 1923 on Broadway and originally in 1922 with Edith Evans in UK.
The Divorcee is a 1919 American society drama starring Ethel Barrymore in her last silent feature film. The film is based on a 1907 play, Lady Frederick by young Somerset Maugham, which had starred Barrymore on Broadway. The play was already quite dated when this film was made, but the actress was always comfortable with this kind of soap-operish melodramatic material. Herbert Blaché directed, and June Mathis wrote the scenario based on Maugham's play. The film was produced and distributed by the Metro Pictures company.
The Sadie Thompson Inn is a historic building in Malaloa, one of the constituent villages of Pago Pago in American Samoa. The building is noted as the guest house where from mid-December 1916 author W. Somerset Maugham resided for six weeks during an extended trip through the South Sea Islands. He described it as a "dilapidated lodging house with a corrugated tin roof" and complained that he contracted "a stubborn rash, no doubt fungus" while at the hotel, and of the weeks it took to cure it.
Rain, originally entitled Sadie Thompson (1997), is an American opera by Richard Owen, based on the 1921 short story Rain by Somerset Maugham. The first version, named not after the story title, but like the 1928 Gloria Swanson film named after the female leading character, Sadie Thompson, was premiered 20 November 1997. The revised version of the opera, Rain, was premiered by Camerata New York at Alice Tully Hall 20 February 2003. A recording of the 2003 performances was issued on Albany Records.
"Rain" is a short story by the British writer W. Somerset Maugham. It was originally published as "Miss Thompson" in the April 1921 issue of the American literary magazine The Smart Set, and was included in the collection of stories by Maugham The Trembling of a Leaf.
Rapley Holmes was a stage and screen actor. He was born in Canada and married actress Gerda Holmes.
Sadie Thompson is a 1944 musical in two acts and three scenes by composer Vernon Duke and lyricist Howard Dietz. The musical book, written by Dietz and Rouben Mamoulian, is based on the short story "Rain" by W. Somerset Maugham, published in the literary magazine The Smart Set in 1921. Originally written as a vehicle for Ethel Merman, the actress withdrew from production on September 29, 1944 after just a week and a half of rehearsals, and the lead part went to June Havoc. The work premiered at the Sam S. Shubert Theatre in Philadelphia on October 26, 1944 where it ran for two weeks of tryout performances, then moved to New York. The original production was produced by A.P. Waxman, directed by Mamoulian, and choreographed by Edward Caton. Boris Aronson designed the sets, and the Motley Theatre Design Group designed the costumes.
Sadie Thompson refers to the main character from "Rain" by W. Somerset Maugham (1921). Several adaptations of that story exist with that title:
The playwright, novelist and short-story writer W. Somerset Maugham, was a prolific author from the late 19th century until the 1960s. Most of his earliest successes were for the theatre, but he gave up writing plays after 1932. Many of his plays have been adapted for broadcasting and the cinema, as have several of his novels and short stories. The New York Times commented in 1964, "There are times when one thinks that British television and radio would have to shut up shop if there were not an apparently inexhaustible supply of stories by Maugham to turn into 30-minute plays. One recalls, too, the long list of movies that have been made from his novels − Of Human Bondage, The Moon and Sixpence, The Painted Veil, The Razor's Edge and the rest.
The Trembling of a Leaf: Little Stories of the South Sea Islands is a collection of short stories by W. Somerset Maugham, first published in New York in 1921 by the George H. Doran Company.
Gloria Swanson, New York is a black and white photograph taken by American photographer Edward Steichen, in 1924. The picture depicts leading silent film actress Gloria Swanson, and it was taken for the Vogue magazine. It became one of the most iconic fashion portraits that Steichen took of Hollywood film actors and actresses, and of Swanson herself.
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