The Great Divide | |
---|---|
Directed by | Reginald Barker |
Written by | Benjamin Glazer and Waldemar Young |
Based on | The Great Divide 1906 play by William Vaughn Moody |
Produced by | Louis B. Mayer |
Starring | Alice Terry Conway Tearle Wallace Beery |
Cinematography | Percy Hilburn (*French) |
Edited by | Robert J. Kern |
Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
|
Running time | 80 minutes; 7,811 feet |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
Budget | $318,000 [1] |
Box office | $674,000 [1] |
The Great Divide is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Reginald Barker and produced and distributed by MGM. The film stars Alice Terry, Conway Tearle, and Wallace Beery. It is based on the William Vaughn Moody play, being the second of three film adaptations. [2] The play had been made famous on the 1906 Broadway stage with Margaret Anglin, Henry Miller, Laura Hope Crews, and a pre-Griffith Henry B. Walthall in the principal parts. [3]
As described in a review in a film magazine, [4] so anxious is finely reared Polly Jordan (Terry) to go on a visit in the west that Polly (Pitts) persuades her brother Philip (Gordon) to take her. Dr. Winthrop Newbury (Forrest) promises to stay and protect her, but is called away due to an accident. Three rough intoxicated strangers returning from a fiesta see Ruth and led by Dutch (Beery) break in to get her. In desperation, Ruth picks out one of the other strangers, Stephen Ghent (Tearle), and offers him her life if he will save her from any assault, which he does. This sobers him up and, when he insists that she stand by her promise, she keeps her bargain, and he takes her away and they are married. He takes her to his valuable mine, which he has neglected, and he tries through his work and homelife to win her love, but she remains disgusted with him. Her brother Philip trails them and visits, and although Ruth is ashamed of her situation, she makes it appear that all is OK. Seeing that something is wrong, Philip takes her back home. Stephen keeps away as long as he can, then goes to see her, but she repulses him and falls in a swoon. At the risk of his life, Stephen crosses a flooded canyon to get the doctor, and their son is born. Still Ruth refuses to forgive him, even though others plead with her. Finally, she blurts out the truth of how they met and were married, and her brother a gun intending to shoot Stephen. Seeing him in danger awakens her love for him, resulting in a happy resolution.
Much of The Great Divide was filmed in and around the Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. [4]
The film made a profit of $115,000. [1]
Previously thought lost, a copy was located in the Cinemateket-Svenska Filminstitutet in Stockholm. [5]
Wallace Fitzgerald Beery was an American film and stage actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in Min and Bill (1930) opposite Marie Dressler, as General Director Preysing in Grand Hotel (1932), as Long John Silver in Treasure Island (1934), as Pancho Villa in Viva Villa! (1934), and his titular role in The Champ (1931), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. Beery appeared in some 250 films during a 36-year career. His contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer stipulated in 1932 that he would be paid $1 more than any other contract player at the studio. This made Beery the highest-paid film actor in the world during the early 1930s. He was the brother of actor Noah Beery and uncle of actor Noah Beery Jr.
The following is an overview of 1925 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
Alice Frances Taaffe, known professionally as Alice Terry, was an American film actress and director. She began her career during the silent film era, appearing in thirty-nine films between 1916 and 1933. While Terry's trademark look was her blonde hair, she was actually a brunette, and put on her first blonde wig in Hearts Are Trumps (1920) to look different from Francelia Billington, the other actress in the film. Terry played several different characters in the 1916 anti-war film Civilization, co-directed by Thomas H. Ince and Reginald Barker. Alice wore the blonde wig again in her most acclaimed role as "Marguerite" in film The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921), and kept the wig for any future roles. In 1925 her husband Rex Ingram co-directed Ben-Hur, filming parts of it in Italy. The two decided to move to the French Riviera, where they set up a small studio in Nice and made several films on location in North Africa, Spain, and Italy for MGM and others. In 1933, Terry made her last film appearance in Baroud, which she also co-directed with her husband.
Dinner at Eight is a 1933 American pre-Code comedy-drama film directed by George Cukor from a screenplay by Frances Marion and Herman J. Mankiewicz, based on George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber's 1932 play of the same title. The film features an ensemble cast of Marie Dressler, John Barrymore, Wallace Beery, Jean Harlow, Lionel Barrymore, Lee Tracy, Edmund Lowe, and Billie Burke.
Bad Company is a 1925 American silent romantic drama film directed by Edward H. Griffith, based on a story by John C. Brownell. It stars Madge Kennedy, Conway Tearle, and Bigelow Cooper.
Sir Godfrey Seymour Tearle was a British actor who portrayed the quintessential British gentleman on stage and in both British and US films.
Conway Tearle was an American stage actor who went on to perform in silent and early sound films.
The Mystic is a 1925 American MGM silent drama film directed by Tod Browning, who later directed MGM's Freaks (1932). It was co-written by Browning and Waldemar Young, writing a similar storyline to their earlier 1925 hit film The Unholy Three. Browning was unable however to hire his favorite star Lon Chaney this time around, and The Mystic wound up a little-known film with a cast of now-forgotten names. Aileen Pringle's gowns in the film were by already famous Romain de Tirtoff . A print of the film exists.
The Next Corner is a 1924 American silent romantic melodrama film directed by Sam Wood. The film starred Dorothy Mackaill and Lon Chaney. Based on the romance novel of the same name by Kate Jordan, the film was produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures.
Ashes of Vengeance is a 1923 American drama film directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Norma Talmadge and Wallace Beery.
Dancing Mothers is a 1926 American black and white silent drama film produced by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by Herbert Brenon, and stars Alice Joyce, Conway Tearle, and making her debut appearance for a Paramount Pictures film, Clara Bow. Dancing Mothers was released to the general public on March 1, 1926. The film tells the story of a pretty mother, who was almost cheated out of life by a heartless husband and a thoughtless daughter. The film survives on 16mm film stock and is currently kept at the UCLA Film and Television Archive.
Coming Through is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by A. Edward Sutherland starring Thomas Meighan and Lila Lee. The film was Sutherland's directorial debut.
The Great Divide is a 1929 American pre-Code Western film directed by Reginald Barker and starring Dorothy Mackaill. Released in both silent and sound versions, it was produced and distributed by First National Pictures. The film is a remake of The Great Divide, made at MGM in 1925 and also directed by Barker. There was another remake in 1931 as the full sound film Woman Hungry. All three films are based on the 1906 Broadway play The Great Divide by William Vaughn Moody.
The Great Divide is a 1915 silent film drama produced by the Lubin Manufacturing Company and starring Ethel Clayton. It is based on the 1906 stage play, The Great Divide, by William Vaughn Moody.
Her Husband's Secret is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Antonio Moreno, Patsy Ruth Miller, and Ruth Clifford.
She Loves and Lies is a 1920 American silent comedy drama film directed by Chester Withey and starring Norma Talmadge, Conway Tearle, and Octavia Broske.
Marooned Hearts is a lost 1920 American silent drama film directed by George Archainbaud. It starred Conway Tearle and Zena Keefe.
The Common Law is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by George Archainbaud and starring Corinne Griffith and Conway Tearle. Based upon the novel of the same name by Robert William Chambers, the film was produced and released by Selznick Pictures Corporation.
Morals for Men is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Bernard H. Hyman and starring Conway Tearle, Agnes Ayres, and Alyce Mills. It is based upon the novel The Lucky Serum by Gouverneur Morris.
School for Wives is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Victor Halperin and starring Conway Tearle, Sigrid Holmquist, and Peggy Kelly. It provided an early role for the future star Brian Donlevy. Based on Leonard Merrick's 1907 melodramatic novel The House of Lynch, it was not well-received by critics.