The Magic Flame

Last updated

The Magic Flame
Magic Flame lobby card.jpg
Lobby card
Directed by Henry King
Written by George Marion, Jr. (titles)
June Mathis (continuity)
Bess Meredyth (writer)
Nellie Revell (titles)
Based onKönig Harlekin
by Rudolph Lothar
Produced by Samuel Goldwyn
Starring Ronald Colman
Vilma Bánky
Cinematography George Barnes
Music by Sigmund Spaeth
Production
company
Distributed by United Artists
Release date
  • September 18, 1927 (1927-09-18)(U.S.)
Running time
9 reels
CountryUnited States
Language Silent (English intertitles)

The Magic Flame is a 1927 American silent drama film directed by Henry King, produced by Samuel Goldwyn, and based on the 1900 play Konig Harlekin by Rudolph Lothar. [1] George Barnes was nominated at the 1st Academy Awards for Best Cinematography for his work in The Magic Flame, The Devil Dancer , and Sadie Thompson . [2] The film promoted itself as the Romeo and Juliet of the circus upon its release.

Contents

Plot

Cast

Preservation

The Magic Flame is now considered to be a lost film. [3] The first five reels are rumored to exist at the George Eastman House, though this is disputed. [4] [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Barthelmess</span> American actor (1895–1963)

Richard Semler Barthelmess was an American film actor, principally of the Hollywood silent era. He starred opposite Lillian Gish in D. W. Griffith's Broken Blossoms (1919) and Way Down East (1920) and was among the founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1927. The following year, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for two films: The Patent Leather Kid and The Noose.

<i>Chasing Amy</i> 1997 American romantic comedy-drama film by Kevin Smith

Chasing Amy is a 1997 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Kevin Smith and starring Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, and Jason Lee. The third film in Smith's View Askewniverse series, the film is about a male comic artist (Affleck) who falls in love with a lesbian (Adams), to the displeasure of his best friend (Lee).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronald Colman</span> British actor (1891–1958)

Ronald Charles Colman was an English-born actor, starting his career in theatre and silent film in his native country, then emigrating to the United States and having a highly successful Hollywood film career. He starred in silent films and successfully transitioned to sound, aided by a distinctive, pleasing voice. He was most popular during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. He received Oscar nominations for Bulldog Drummond (1929), Condemned (1929) and Random Harvest (1942). Colman starred in several classic films, including A Tale of Two Cities (1935), Lost Horizon (1937) and The Prisoner of Zenda (1937). He also played the starring role in the Technicolor classic Kismet (1944), with Marlene Dietrich, which was nominated for four Academy Awards. In 1947, he won an Academy Award for Best Actor and Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for the film A Double Life.

Sadie Thompson is a 1928 American silent drama film that tells the story of a "fallen woman" who comes to Pago Pago to start a new life, but encounters a zealous missionary who wants to force her back to her former life in San Francisco. The film stars Gloria Swanson, Lionel Barrymore, and Raoul Walsh, and it is one of Swanson's more successful films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alice Brady</span> American actress (1892–1939)

Alice Brady was an American actress who began her career in the silent film era and survived the transition into talkies. She worked until six months before her death from cancer in 1939. Her films include My Man Godfrey (1936), in which she plays the flighty mother of Carole Lombard's character, and In Old Chicago (1937) for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vilma Bánky</span> Hungarian-American film actress

Vilma Bánky was a Hungarian-American silent film actress. Although her acting career began in Budapest, and she later worked in France, Austria, and Germany, Bánky was best known for her roles in the American films The Eagle and The Son of the Sheik with Rudolph Valentino, and for several romantic teamings with Ronald Colman.

<i>The Son of the Sheik</i> 1926 film by George Fitzmaurice

The Son of the Sheik is a 1926 American silent adventure drama film directed by George Fitzmaurice and starring Rudolph Valentino and Vilma Bánky. The film is based on the 1925 romance novel The Sons of the Sheik by Edith Maude Hull, and is a sequel to the 1921 hit film The Sheik, which also stars Rudolph Valentino. The Son of the Sheik is Valentino's final film and went into general release nearly two weeks after his death from peritonitis at the age of 31.

<i>The Eagle</i> (1925 film) 1925 film

The Eagle is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Clarence Brown and starring Rudolph Valentino, Vilma Bánky, and Louise Dresser. Based on the posthumously published 1841 novel Dubrovsky by Alexander Pushkin, the film is about a lieutenant in the Russian army who catches the eye of Czarina Catherine II. After he rejects her advances and flees, she puts out a warrant for his arrest, dead or alive. When he learns that his father has been persecuted and killed, he dons a black mask and becomes an outlaw. Black Eagle does not exist in the novel and was inspired by the performance of Douglas Fairbanks as Zorro in The Mark of Zorro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natalie Kingston</span> American actress (1905–1991)

Natalie Kingston was an American actress.

A film base is a transparent substrate which acts as a support medium for the photosensitive emulsion that lies atop it. Despite the numerous layers and coatings associated with the emulsion layer, the base generally accounts for the vast majority of the thickness of any given film stock. Since the late 19th century, there have been three major types of film base in use: nitrate, acetate, and polyester.

<i>The Awakening</i> (1928 film) 1928 film

The Awakening is a 1928 American sound feature film directed by Victor Fleming and starring Vilma Bánky. 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. The film was based on a story by Frances Marion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry King (director)</span> American film director

Henry King was an American actor and film director. Widely considered one of the finest and most successful filmmakers of his era, King was nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Director and directed seven films nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

<i>The Winning of Barbara Worth</i> 1926 American silent Western film by Henry King

The Winning of Barbara Worth is a 1926 American silent Western film directed by Henry King, and starring Ronald Colman, Vilma Bánky and Gary Cooper. Based on Harold Bell Wright's novel The Winning of Barbara Worth, the film is remembered for the climactic flood sequence, depicting the 1905 formation of the Salton Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronald Colman filmography</span>

Ronald Colman began his career as an actor on the stage following his service in the British Army during World War I. He made his film debut in an unreleased two-reeler titled The Live Wire (1917). After achieving minor success on the stage and in British films, he immigrated to the United States in 1920. There he continued his acting with only moderate success until he was offered the lead opposite Lillian Gish in The White Sister (1923). The film's popularity and critical acclaim led to Colman becoming a major star and also a romantic idol of the silent cinema. As a contract player for Samuel Goldwyn, Colman was cast as leading man to many of the top actress as the silent era. In five of his silents he formed a romantic team with Hungarian actress Vilma Bánky.

Two Lovers is a 1928 American sound historical drama film directed by Fred Niblo. 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. The film stars Vilma Bánky, Ronald Colman, and Noah Beery. Based on the novel Leatherface: A Tale of Old Flanders by Baroness Emma Orczy, it was produced by Samuel Goldwyn.

<i>The Dark Angel</i> (1925 film) 1925 film

The Dark Angel is a 1925 American silent drama film, based on the play The Dark Angel, a Play of Yesterday and To-day by H. B. Trevelyan, released by First National Pictures, and starring Ronald Colman, Vilma Bánky, and Wyndham Standing.

<i>The Devil Dancer</i> 1927 film

The Devil Dancer is a 1927 American silent romantic drama film directed by Fred Niblo and produced by Samuel Goldwyn.

<i>This Is Heaven</i> 1929 film

This Is Heaven is a 1929 American pre-Code romantic comedy film directed by Alfred Santell and starring Vilma Bánky. It was produced by Samuel Goldwyn and released through United Artists.

Orphans of Happiness or Shadow Children of Happiness is a 1922 German silent film directed by Franz Osten and starring Vilma Bánky.

References

  1. Shilling, Donovan A. (September 1, 2013). Rochester's Movie Mania. Pancoast Publishing. p. 187. ISBN   9780982109045.
  2. "The 1st Academy Awards (1929) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences . Retrieved November 9, 2013.
  3. Progressive Silent Film List: The Magic Flame at silentera.com
  4. Vilma Banky: Hungarian Rhapsody
  5. Schildgen, Rachel A. (2010). More Than a Dream: Rediscovering the Life and Films of Vilma Bánky. 1921 PVG Publishing. p. 167. ISBN   978-0982770924 . Retrieved March 5, 2013. ... in the past, scholars have said the first five reels were housed at the George Eastman House in New York. Further inquiries have turned up little, and it is safe to assume the film is gone for good.