The Confession (1920 film)

Last updated
The Confession
Directed by Bertram Bracken
Based onThe Confession
by Hal Reid
Starring Henry B. Walthall
Production
company
National Film Corporation of America
Running time
77 minutes
CountryUnited States
Languages
The Confession

The Confession is a 1920 American silent drama film [1] directed by Bertram Bracken, based on the play of the same name by Hal Reid. [2] The film stars Henry B. Walthall as Father Bartlett, a priest who refuses to reveal the identity of a killer after hearing his confession, even though Bartlett's brother Tom is on trial for the crime. [3]

Contents

The film was re-released in 1927 under the title Confession. [4]

Cast

Reception

Upon release, a reviewer for Kansas City, Missouri's The Independent wrote a positive review of the film, praising Walthall's performance and calling the film "the strongest dramatic picture that has come out of motion picture studios." [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lon Chaney</span> American actor (1883–1930)

Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney was an American actor and makeup artist. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and afflicted, characters, and his groundbreaking artistry with makeup. Chaney was known for his starring roles in such silent horror films as The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) and The Phantom of the Opera (1925). His ability to transform himself using makeup techniques that he developed, earned him the nickname "The Man of a Thousand Faces".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Desmond Taylor</span> Irish-American film director, actor, and murder victim (1872–1922)

William Desmond Taylor was an Anglo-Irish-American film director and actor. A popular figure in the growing Hollywood motion picture colony of the 1910s and early 1920s, Taylor directed fifty-nine silent films between 1914 and 1922 and acted in twenty-seven between 1913 and 1915.

<i>London After Midnight</i> (film) Lost 1927 American silent film

London After Midnight is a lost 1927 American silent mystery horror film directed and co-produced by Tod Browning and starring Lon Chaney, with Marceline Day, Conrad Nagel, Henry B. Walthall and Polly Moran. The film was distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and was written by Waldemar Young, based on the story "The Hypnotist" which was written by Browning. Merritt B. Gerstad was the cinematographer, and the sets were designed by Cedric Gibbons and Arnold Gillespie. Harry Sharrock was the assistant director. The film cost $151,666.14 to produce, and grossed $1,004,000. Chaney's real-life make-up case can be seen in the last scene of the film sitting on a table, the only time it ever appeared in a movie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Harron</span> American actor

Robert Emmett Harron was an American motion picture actor of the early silent film era. Although he acted in over 200 films, he is possibly best recalled for his roles in the D.W. Griffith directed films The Birth of a Nation (1915) and Intolerance (1916).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry B. Walthall</span> American actor (1878–1936)

Henry Brazeale Walthall was an American stage and film actor. He appeared as the Little Colonel in D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (1915).

<i>Way Down East</i> 1920 film

Way Down East is a 1920 American silent romantic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. It is one of four film adaptations of the melodramatic 19th century play of the same name by Lottie Blair Parker. There were two earlier silent versions and one sound version in 1935 starring Henry Fonda. Griffith's version is particularly remembered for its climax in which Gish's character is rescued from doom on an icy river.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Santschi</span> American actor

Paul William "Tom" Santschi was an American leading man and character actor of the silent film era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creighton Hale</span> American actor (1882–1965)

Creighton Hale was an Irish-American theatre, film, and television actor whose career extended more than a half-century, from the early 1900s to the end of the 1950s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Film Booking Offices of America</span> American film studio of the silent era

Film Booking Offices of America (FBO), registered as FBO Pictures Corp., was an American film studio of the silent era, a midsize producer and distributor of mostly low-budget films. The business began in 1918 as Robertson-Cole, an Anglo-American import-export company. Robertson-Cole began distributing films in the United States that December and opened a Los Angeles production facility in 1920. Late that year, R-C entered into a working relationship with East Coast financier Joseph P. Kennedy. A business reorganization in 1922 led to its assumption of the FBO name, first for all its distribution operations and ultimately for its own productions as well. Through Kennedy, the studio contracted with Western leading man Fred Thomson, who grew by 1925 into one of Hollywood's most popular stars. Thomson was just one of several silent screen cowboys with whom FBO became identified.

<i>The Golden Bed</i> 1925 film

The Golden Bed is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. It is based on the novel Tomorrow's Bread by Wallace Irwin. Jeanie MacPherson wrote the screenplay.

<i>Sin</i> (1915 film) 1915 film

Sin is a 1915 American silent drama film written and directed by Herbert Brenon and starring Theda Bara. It was produced by Fox Film Corporation and shot at the Fox Studio in Fort Lee, New Jersey. The film is now considered to be lost.

<i>The Jazz Age</i> (film) 1929 film

The Jazz Age (1929) is a film starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Marceline Day, and Joel McCrea in his first leading role. The film, directed by Lynn Shores and written by Randolph Bartlett, was released by RKO Radio Pictures soon after RKO was created from Film Booking Offices of America, RCA, and the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chain.

<i>Dinty</i> (film) 1920 film by Marshall Neilan

Dinty is a 1920 American silent comedy drama film written by Marshall Neilan and John McDermott specifically for Wesley Barry, a young actor known for his freckled complexion. Prominent among the supporting players were Colleen Moore, Marjorie Daw, Pat O'Malley, and Noah Beery.

<i>The Idol Dancer</i> 1920 film by D. W. Griffith

The Idol Dancer is a 1920 American silent South Seas drama film produced and directed by D. W. Griffith. It stars Richard Barthelmess and Clarine Seymour in her final film role. Seymour was a young actress Griffith was grooming for stardom. She died of pneumonia shortly after emergency surgery for an intestinal blockage on April 24, 1920, less than a month after the film premiered.

<i>Boy of Mine</i> 1923 film by William Beaudine

Boy of Mine is a 1923 American silent family drama film directed by William Beaudine that was based upon a short story by Booth Tarkington. It stars Ben Alexander, Rockliffe Fellowes, and Henry B. Walthall. Wendy L. Marshall stated that "Beaudine had the Midas touch when it came to directing children" in films like this and Penrod and Sam.

<i>The Last Outlaw</i> (1936 film) 1936 film directed by Christy Cabanne

The Last Outlaw is a 1936 American Western film directed by Christy Cabanne from a screenplay by John Twist and Jack Townley. The original story was credited to "E. Murray Campbell" and John Ford, who directed the 1919 version. Harry Carey starred in both versions.

Way Down East is a 1935 American romantic drama film directed by Henry King and starring Rochelle Hudson, Henry Fonda, Slim Summerville, Margaret Hamilton, Andy Devine and Spring Byington. It was released by 20th Century Fox and produced by Fox Film Corporation.

<i>Parted Curtains</i> 1920 film

Parted Curtains is a 1920 American silent crime-drama film written and directed by Bertram Bracken and James C. Bradford. The film stars Henry B. Walthall, Mary Alden, William Clifford, Edward Cecil, Margaret Landis, and Mickey Moore. The film was released on April 2, 1920.

The Little Tease is a 1913 silent black and white film directed by D. W. Griffith, produced by Biograph Company and starring Henry B. Walthall and Mae Marsh.

Strongheart is a 1914 American silent Western black and white film directed by James Kirkwood Sr., produced by Henry B. Harris, written by Frank E. Woods and starring Henry B. Walthall, Lionel Barrymore, Blanche Sweet and Antonio Moreno. The film was supervised by D.W. Griffith.

References

  1. Klepper, Robert K. (1996). Silent Films on Video: A Filmography of over 700 Silent Features Available on Videocassette, With a Directory of Sources. McFarland & Company. p. 66. ISBN   978-0786401574.
  2. "The Confession (1920) - Overview". Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  3. Malone, Peter (2019). Screen Priests. ATF Press. p. 14. ISBN   978-1925872903.
  4. 1 2 3 Kabatchnik, Amnon (2008). Blood on the Stage: Milestone Plays of Crime, Mystery, and Detection. Scarecrow Press. p. 154. ISBN   978-0810861237.
  5. "Amusements: New Royal". The Independent. Vol. XLIII (43), no. 21. Kansas City, Missouri. July 3, 1920. p. 9. Retrieved May 10, 2022.