The Great Adventure | |
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Directed by | Kenneth Webb |
Written by | Dorothy Farnum |
Based on | Buried Alive by Arnold Bennett |
Produced by | Whitman Bennett |
Starring | Lionel Barrymore |
Cinematography | Tom L. Griffith Harry Stradling |
Distributed by | First National Pictures (as Associated First National) |
Release date |
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Running time | 6 reels |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
The Great Adventure is a 1921 American silent romantic comedy film produced by Whitman Bennett and distributed by First National Pictures, then called Associated First National. The film was directed by Kenneth Webb and starred Lionel Barrymore. Fredric March made his screen debut in this film. The film is based upon the 1908 novel Buried Alive by Arnold Bennett. It was remade in 1933 as His Double Life starring Lillian Gish. The Great Adventure is a surviving feature film held by the Library of Congress. [1] [2] [3] [4]
As summarized in a film publication, [5] Priam Farll (Barrymore), England's noted artist, goes to Warsaw with his valet Henry Leek (Braidon) to escape Lady Sophia Entwhistle (Broske), who is bound to wed him. Sophia follows him to Warsaw and, for the reason of not knowing what else to do, the artist becomes engaged to her. The next day he escapes and returns to London, where his valet dies. Priam gives the deceased valet's name as "Priam Farll" and assumes the valet's name as his own. He attends his own funeral in Westminster where he encounters Lady Sophia in deep mourning weeping bitterly. He leaves before she notices him. Among the valet's letters is one noting an appointment. Priam keeps the late valet's date which turns out to be with an widow who had answered Henry's matrimonial ad. Priam marries the woman under the name Henry Leek. Lack of funds causes Priam to resume his painting, and when his work is recognized he refuses to admit his identity. But when it develops that the late Leek had a wife and two children, who arrive and demand their rights, Priam begins to weaken and eventually proves that he is Priam Farll on the condition that his identity remain secret to protect against Lady Sophia's breach of promise suit.
Buried Alive is a 1908 comedy novel by the British writer Arnold Bennett. In 1913 Bennett adapted it as a play The Great Adventure. This later provided the basis for the 1968 musical Darling of the Day.
Doris Marie Rankin was an American stage and film actress.
His Double Life is a 1933 American pre-Code comedy drama film directed by Broadway theatrical impresario and first time film director Arthur Hopkins with directorial input from the experienced William C. deMille, Cecil's older brother. It stars Roland Young and Lillian Gish.
The Barrier is a 1926 American silent adventure film produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and directed by George Hill. The film stars Lionel Barrymore and Marceline Day and is based on the 1908 wilderness novel of the same name by Rex Beach. Previous versions of the novel had been filmed in 1913 and 1917 respectively. This film is the last silent version to be filmed. The Barrier is a lost film.
The Lucky Lady is a 1926 American silent romance film produced by Famous Players–Lasky, distributed by Paramount Pictures, directed by Raoul Walsh, and starring Greta Nissen, Lionel Barrymore, William Collier, Jr., and Marc McDermott.
The Copperhead is a 1920 American silent historical drama film based on a novel by Frederick Landis and a 1918 play by Augustus Thomas. The star of this film is Lionel Barrymore who won acclaim in the play version on Broadway, and who appeared in the play and this film with his first wife Doris Rankin. A print of this film has been screened in recent years.
The World's Champion is a 1922 American silent drama film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The movie is based on the play The Champion by Thomas Louden and A.E. Thomas that was produced on Broadway in 1921. The film was directed by Phil Rosen and starred Wallace Reid. This film survives in an incomplete form at the Library of Congress.
The Lion and the Mouse (1928) is a part-silent/part-sound drama film produced by Warner Bros., directed by Lloyd Bacon, and based on the 1905 play by Charles Klein. The film marks the first time Lionel Barrymore, who was on loan out from MGM, spoke from the screen.
Jim the Penman is a 1921 American silent crime drama film produced by Whitman Bennett and distributed through Associated First National, later just First National Pictures. It is based on a well known play, Jim the Penman by Charles Lawrence Young about a forger in Victorian Britain. The film stars Lionel Barrymore and was directed by Kenneth Webb, the duo having worked on The Great Adventure previously. Jim the Penman is preserved though incomplete at the Library of Congress.
Lionel Barrymore was an American actor of stage, screen, and radio. He also directed several films, wrote scripts, created etchings, sketches, and composed music. He was the eldest child of the actors Maurice Barrymore and Georgie Drew Barrymore, and his two siblings were John and Ethel; these and other family members were part of an acting dynasty. Reluctant to follow his parents' career, Barrymore appeared together with his grandmother Louisa Lane Drew in a stage production of The Rivals at the age of 15. He soon found success on stage in character roles. Although he took a break from acting in 1906–1909 to train in Paris as a painter, he was not successful as an artist, and returned to the US and acting. He also joined his family troupe, from 1910, in their vaudeville act.
Classmates is a 1914 silent film directed by James Kirkwood for the Biograph Company. It is based on the 1907 stage play Classmates by Margaret Turnbull and William C. deMille. It was shot in Jacksonville, Florida at the end of 1913.
Wildfire is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by T. Hayes Hunter. It was produced by Distinctive Productions, a company founded by George Arliss, and distributed by the Vitagraph Company of America. The film stars Aileen Pringle.
The Face in the Fog is a 1922 American silent film produced by Cosmopolitan Productions and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Alan Crosland and starred Lionel Barrymore. An incomplete print is preserved at the Library of Congress.
Paris at Midnight is a 1926 American silent drama film starring Jetta Goudal and Lionel Barrymore and was directed by E. Mason Hopper. It was distributed by Producers Distributing Corporation. It was based on the novel Le Père Goriot by Honoré de Balzac.
The Devil's Garden is a lost 1920 American silent drama film produced by Whitman Bennett, directed by Kenneth Webb, and released through First National Exhibitor's Circuit, which was later known as First National Pictures. The film starred Lionel Barrymore, May McAvoy, and Barrymore's first wife Doris Rankin. It is based on the 1913 novel, The Devil's Garden by William Babington Maxwell, and was the first film for Whitman Bennett Productions.
The Girl Who Wouldn't Work is an extant 1925 American silent drama film produced by B. P. Schulberg and starring Lionel Barrymore and Marguerite De La Motte. Preferred Pictures and Al Lichtman handled the distribution of this film directed by Marcel De Sano.
Boomerang Bill is an extant 1922 American silent crime melodrama film produced by Cosmopolitan Productions and distributed through Paramount Pictures. Adapted from a Boston Blackie short story by Jack Boyle, it was directed by Tom Terriss and stars veteran actor Lionel Barrymore. It is preserved incomplete at the Library of Congress and George Eastman House.
Unseeing Eyes is a lost 1923 American silent north country drama film produced by William Randolph Hearst and distributed by Goldwyn Pictures. Edward H. Griffith directed Lionel Barrymore, Seena Owen, Louis Wolheim, and Gustav von Seyffertitz in the action packed drama. The movie was filmed in part at the Gray Rocks Resort in the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec, Canada.
Meddling Women is a 1924 American silent drama film produced by Chadwick Pictures Corporation and distributed by them and/or a State's Rights basis. Directed by Ivan Abramson, the film stars Lionel Barrymore.
The River Woman is a 1928 American drama film directed by Joseph Henabery that is part-silent and part-sound. Made by an independent company, Gotham, the film starred Lionel Barrymore and Jacqueline Logan.