The Flame Within (film)

Last updated
The Flame Within
Directed by Edmund Goulding
Screenplay byEdmund Goulding
Produced byEdmund Goulding
Starring Ann Harding
Herbert Marshall
Maureen O'Sullivan
Louis Hayward
Henry Stephenson
Margaret Seddon
Cinematography James Wong Howe
Edited by Blanche Sewell
Music by Jerome Kern
Production
company
Distributed by Loew's Inc.
Release date
  • May 17, 1935 (1935-05-17)
Running time
72 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Flame Within is a 1935 American drama film written and directed by Edmund Goulding. The film stars Ann Harding, Herbert Marshall, Maureen O'Sullivan, Louis Hayward, Henry Stephenson and Margaret Seddon. The film was released on May 17, 1935, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. [1] [2]

Contents

Plot

A suicidal woman, Lillian Belton (Maureen O'Sullivan), unsuccessfully attempts suicide by taking pills, and she is referred to a psychiatrist for therapy. While at the psychiatrist, Lillian attempts suicide again by trying to jump out the window, and she is only stopped by the psychiatrist, Dr. Mary White (Ann Harding). Dr. White learns that Lillian’s troubles are connected to Jack Kerry (Louis Hayward), whom she contacted just prior to her attempt with the psychiatrist. Lillian loves Jack, but he is an alcoholic and does not love Lillian the way she loves him. Dr. White contacts Jack, and persuades him to seek treatment for his alcoholism. As Jack completes his treatment, he falls in love with Dr. White, but she reminds Jack of Lillian’s need for him, and Jack and Lillian marry. Lillian’s physician, Dr. Gordon Phillips (Herbert Marshall), is also in love with Dr. White, but cannot convince her to leave her patients and her practice. Dr. White encounters Lillian and Jack at a costume ball, and Jack manages to get a dance with Dr. White, as a suspicious Lillian looks on. Jack confesses his love for Dr. White, but she again reminds him of his marriage and commitment to Lillian. An enraged Lillian creates a scene with Dr. White, who uses this experience as a parallel of her and Dr. Phillips’ relationship.

Cast

Related Research Articles

<i>The Letter</i> (1940 film) 1940 American crime drama film William Wyler

The Letter is a 1940 American crime melodrama directed by William Wyler, and starring Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall and James Stephenson. The screenplay by Howard E. Koch is based on the 1927 play of the same name by W. Somerset Maugham derived from his own short story. The play was first filmed in 1929, by director Jean de Limur. The story was inspired by a real-life scandal involving the Eurasian wife of the headmaster of a school in Kuala Lumpur who was convicted in a murder trial after shooting dead a male friend in April 1911. She was pardoned by the local sultan after a public furor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ann Harding</span> American actress

Ann Harding was an American theatre, motion picture, radio, and television actress. A regular player on Broadway and in regional theater in the 1920s, in the 1930s Harding was one of the first actresses to gain fame in the new medium of "talking pictures," and she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1931 for her work in Holiday.

<i>Ill Cry Tomorrow</i> 1955 film by Daniel Mann

I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955) is a biopic that tells the story of Lillian Roth, a Broadway star who rebels against the pressure of her domineering mother and struggles with alcoholism after the death of her fiancé. It stars Susan Hayward, Richard Conte, Eddie Albert, Margo, and Jo Van Fleet.

<i>The Petrified Forest</i> 1936 film by Archie Mayo

The Petrified Forest is a 1936 American film directed by Archie Mayo and based on Robert E. Sherwood's 1935 Broadway drama of the same name. The motion picture stars Leslie Howard, Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart. The screenplay was written by Delmer Daves and Charles Kenyon, and adaptations were later performed on radio and television. The film is set in Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis Hayward</span> British actor born in South Africa

Louis Charles Hayward was a Johannesburg-born, British-American actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herbert Marshall</span> English actor (1890–1966)

Herbert Brough Falcon Marshall was an English stage, screen, and radio actor who starred in many popular and well-regarded Hollywood films in the 1930s and 1940s. After a successful theatrical career in the United Kingdom and North America, he became an in-demand Hollywood leading man, frequently appearing in romantic melodramas and occasional comedies. In his later years, he turned to character acting.

Backstairs at the White House is a 1979 NBC television miniseries based on the 1961 book My Thirty Years Backstairs at the White House by Lillian Rogers Parks. The series, produced by Ed Friendly Productions, is the story of behind-the-scenes workings of the White House and the relationship between the staff and the First Families.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Stephenson</span> British stage and film actor

Henry Stephenson was a British actor. He portrayed friendly and wise gentlemen in many films of the 1930s and 1940s. Among his roles were Sir Joseph Banks in Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) and Mr. Brownlow in Oliver Twist (1948).

<i>Diamond Jim</i> 1935 film

Diamond Jim is a 1935 biographical film based on the published biography Diamond Jim Brady by Parker Morell. It follows the life of legendary entrepreneur James Buchanan Brady, including his romance with entertainer Lillian Russell, and stars Edward Arnold, Jean Arthur, Cesar Romero and Binnie Barnes.

<i>When Ladies Meet</i> (1933 film) 1933 film by Robert Zigler Leonard, Harry Beaumont

When Ladies Meet is a 1933 pre-Code film directed by Harry Beaumont and starring Ann Harding, Myrna Loy, Robert Montgomery, Alice Brady, and Frank Morgan. The film is the first adaptation of the 1932 Rachel Crothers play of the same name. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Art Direction by Cedric Gibbons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret Seddon</span> American actress (1872–1968)

Margaret Seddon was an American stage and film actress.

<i>The Good Fairy</i> (1935 film) 1935 film by William Wyler

The Good Fairy is a 1935 romantic comedy film written by Preston Sturges, based on the 1930 play A jó tündér by Ferenc Molnár as translated and adapted by Jane Hinton, which was produced on Broadway in 1931. The film was directed by William Wyler and stars Margaret Sullavan, Herbert Marshall, Frank Morgan and Reginald Owen.

<i>Double Harness</i> 1933 film

Double Harness (1933) is an American pre-Code film starring Ann Harding and William Powell. It was based on the play of the same name by Edward Poor Montgomery. A young woman maneuvers a lazy playboy into marrying her.

Blanche Irene Sewell was an American female film editor. She was known mainly for working at MGM Studios from 1925 until her death in 1949.

<i>Night Unto Night</i> 1949 film by Don Siegel

Night unto Night is a 1949 American drama film directed by Don Siegel and written by Kathryn Scola. It is based on the 1944 novel by Philip Wylie. The film stars Ronald Reagan, Viveca Lindfors, Broderick Crawford, Rosemary DeCamp, Osa Massen and Art Baker. The film was released by Warner Bros. on June 10, 1949.

<i>Bad Karma</i> (2002 film) 2001 American film

Bad Karma is a 2001 film directed by John Hough. Patsy Kensit stars as a mental patient who believes she is the reincarnated lover of Jack the Ripper, and that her psychiatrist is the reincarnated mass murderer. Damian Chapa and Amy Locane are also in the film, which is adapted by Randall Frakes from the 1997 Douglas Clegg novel of the same name.

<i>Stage Mother</i> (1933 film) 1933 film by Charles Brabin

Stage Mother is a 1933 American pre-Code drama film directed by Charles Brabin and starring Alice Brady and Maureen O'Sullivan. The film is about a frustrated vaudeville performer who pushes her daughter into becoming a star dancer; selfishness, deceit and blackmail drive mother and daughter apart until a reconciliation at the end of the film. The screenplay was written by John Meehan and Bradford Ropes, based on the 1933 novel of the same name by Ropes.

<i>Condemned Women</i> 1938 film by Lew Landers

Condemned Women is a 1938 American drama film directed by Lew Landers and written by Lionel Houser. The film stars Sally Eilers, Louis Hayward, Anne Shirley, Esther Dale and Lee Patrick. The film was released on March 18, 1938.

<i>Biography of a Bachelor Girl</i> 1935 American comedy film directed by Edward H. Griffith

Biography of a Bachelor Girl is a 1935 American comedy film directed by Edward H. Griffith and written by Horace Jackson and Anita Loos. It is based upon the play, "Biography," by S. N. Behrman. The film stars Ann Harding, Robert Montgomery, Edward Everett Horton, Edward Arnold, Una Merkel and Charles Richman. It was released on January 4, 1935, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

<i>Duffy of San Quentin</i> 1954 film by Walter Doniger

Duffy of San Quentin is a 1954 American film noir crime film directed by Walter Doniger and written by Walter Doniger and Berman Swarttz. The film stars Louis Hayward, Joanne Dru, Paul Kelly, Maureen O'Sullivan, George Macready and Horace McMahon. The film was released by Warner Bros. on March 16, 1954.

References

  1. "The Flame Within (1935) - Overview". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  2. "Movie Review-The Flame Within - At the Capitol" . Retrieved November 19, 2014.