The Cavalier (film)

The Cavalier
1926 advertisement using the alternative title The Fighting Don
Directed by	Irvin Willat
Written by	Victor Irvin (screenplay)
Based on	The Cavalier by Max Brand
Produced by	John M. Stahl
Starring	Richard Talmadge Barbara Bedford
Cinematography	Harry Cooper Jack Stevens
Edited by	Doane Harrison
Music by	Hugo Riesenfeld
Distributed by	Tiffany Studios
Release date	November 1, 1928 (1928-11-01)
Running time	7 reels
Country	United States
Languages	Sound (Synchronized) (English Intertitles)

The Cavalier is a 1928 American synchronized sound Western film directed by Irvin Willat, distributed by Tiffany Studios, and starring Richard Talmadge and Barbara Bedford. ^[1] 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.

Plot

The story takes place in old Mexico, where a masked rider (Talmadge) and an impoverished girl (Bedford) fall in love, against her father's wishes. When she leaves with him, her father sends his gang in a chase after the two lovers.

Cast

• Richard Talmadge as El Caballero / Taki
• Barbara Bedford as Lucia D'Arquista
• Nora Cecil as Lucia's Aunt
• David Torrence as Ramón Torreno
• David Mir as Carlos Torreno
• Stuart Holmes as Sergeant Juan Dinero
• Christian J. Frank as Pierre Gaston (credited as Christian Frank)
• Oliver Eckhardt as The Padre

Music

The film featured a theme song entitled "My Cavalier” composed by Hugo Riesenfeld (music) and R. Meredith Willson (lyrics).

Background/Production

Originally intended to be an all-sound film, the picture was shot silent and was distributed with a music and special effects soundtrack, with no dialogue, due to technical issues with the sound synchronization equipment.

Preservation

Previously considered to be a lost film, ^[2] the film exists in the Spanish archive Filmoteca de Catalunya, Barcelona. ^[3] Another print survives at the BFI film archive. ^[4]

See also

• List of early sound feature films (1926–1929)

References

1. Progressive Silent Film List: The Cavalier at silentera.com
2. "Lost Film Files - Tiffany". www.silentsaregolden.com.
3. The Library of Congress / FIAF American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: The Cavalier
4. "CavalierWork - 139555 - 1928 (Release)". collections-search.bfi.org.uk. Retrieved February 4, 2025.

External links

• The Cavalier at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
• The Cavalier at IMDb