Through the Dark | |
---|---|
Directed by | George W. Hill |
Written by | Frances Marion (scenario) |
Based on | "The Daughter of Mother McGinn" by Jack Boyle |
Starring | Forrest Stanley Colleen Moore |
Cinematography | L. William O'Connell Allen Siegler |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Goldwyn Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 80 mins. |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
Through the Dark is a 1924 American silent mystery crime drama film directed by George W. Hill, and starring Colleen Moore and Forrest Stanley as the popular jewel thief and sometimes detective character Boston Blackie. The film's scenario, written by Frances Marion, is based on the short story "The Daughter of Mother McGinn" by Jack Boyle, which appeared in serial form in Cosmopolitan . [1] The film was produced by William Randolph Hearst's Cosmopolitan Productions and distributed through Goldwyn Pictures. [1]
As described in a film magazine review, [2] during a rebellion of prisoners at the San Quentin State Prison, Boston Blackie makes a lightning escape aided by Mary McGinn while chased prison guards. Mary is a school girl, unaware that her brothers are crooks. She is expelled from school. Blackie rejoins his gang and takes refuge in Mother McGinn's house, where he again meets Mary. She devotes herself to making Blackie go straight and wins her point.
The film was banned by the British Board of Film Censors upon its release for its depiction of unspecified "taboo" subject matter. [3]
An incomplete print of Through the Dark is preserved at the Library of Congress. [4] [5]
Boston Blackie is a fictional character created by author Jack Boyle (1881–1928). Blackie, a jewel thief and safecracker in Boyle's stories, became a detective in adaptations for films, radio and television—an "enemy to those who make him an enemy, friend to those who have no friend."
Lights of Old Broadway is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Monta Bell, produced by William Randolph Hearst's Cosmopolitan Productions, and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film stars Marion Davies in a dual role and Conrad Nagel, and is an adaptation of the play The Merry Wives of Gotham by Laurence Eyre (USA). The film has color sequences using tinting, Technicolor, and the Handschiegl color process.
Cytherea is a 1924 American silent romantic drama film directed by George Fitzmaurice and starring Alma Rubens, Lewis Stone, Constance Bennett, and Norman Kerry. Based on the novel Cytherea, Goddess of Love, by Joseph Hergesheimer and was adapted for the screen by Frances Marion. Cytherea features two dream sequences filmed in an early version of the Technicolor color film process. The film is also known as The Forbidden Way.
Flaming Youth is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by John Francis Dillon and starring Colleen Moore and Milton Sills, based on the novel of the same name by Samuel Hopkins Adams. Associated First National produced and distributed the film. In his retrospective essay "Echoes of the Jazz Age", writer F. Scott Fitzgerald cited Flaming Youth as the only film that captured the sexual revolution of the Jazz Age.
We Moderns is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed by John Francis Dillon and starring Colleen Moore. The film was produced by Moore's husband John McCormick and was released through First National Pictures. It was based on the play and novel by Israel Zangwill, which ran for 22 performances in 1924 at the Gaiety Theatre in New York, produced and directed by Harrison Grey Fiske and starring Helen Hayes and Isabel Irving.
The Fighting Coward is a 1924 American silent comedy film produced by Famous Players–Lasky, released by Paramount Pictures, and directed by James Cruze. The film stars Ernest Torrence, Mary Astor, Noah Beery, Sr., Phyllis Haver, and Cullen Landis. The film is based on the play Magnolia by Booth Tarkington, from 1904.
When Knighthood Was in Flower is a 1922 American silent historical film directed by Robert G. Vignola, based on the novel by Charles Major and play by Paul Kester. The film was produced by William Randolph Hearst for Marion Davies and distributed by Paramount Pictures. This was William Powell's second film. The story was re-filmed by Walt Disney in 1953 as The Sword and the Rose, directed by Ken Annakin.
The Great White Way is a 1924 American silent comedy film centered on the sport of boxing. It was directed by E. Mason Hopper and produced by Cosmopolitan Productions and distributed through Goldwyn Pictures. The film was made with the cooperation of the New York City Fire Department. The film stars Oscar Shaw and Anita Stewart. It was remade twelve years later as Cain and Mabel with Marion Davies and Clark Gable.
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.
Yolanda is a 1924 American silent historical drama film produced by William Randolph Hearst and starring Marion Davies. Robert G. Vignola directed as he had Enchantment (1921) and several other Davies costume films. The film began production as a Metro-Goldwyn film, with the company becoming Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in May 1924.
The Dramatic Life of Abraham Lincoln is a 1924 American feature film directed by Phil Rosen and written by Frances Marion. By the date of release, the film's title was shortened to Abraham Lincoln, since the previous title was regarded as cumbersome.
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 as detective Boston Blackie. An incomplete print is preserved at the Library of Congress.
Just Around the Corner is an extant 1921 American silent drama film produced by William Randolph Hearst's Cosmopolitan Productions and distributed through Paramount Pictures. The film is based on a short story, "Superman," by Fannie Hurst and was directed by Frances Marion, a prolific Hollywood scenarist.
The Poppy Girl's Husband is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by William S. Hart and Lambert Hillyer and written by Jules Boyle and C. Gardner Sullivan. The film stars William S. Hart, Juanita Hansen, Walter Long, Fred Starr, David Kirby and Georgie Stone. The film was released on March 16, 1919, by Paramount Pictures.
The Breaking Point is a 1924 American silent mystery film directed by Herbert Brenon and written by Edfrid A. Bingham and Julie Herne. The film, based on the 1922 novel of the same name by Mary Roberts Rinehart, stars Nita Naldi, Patsy Ruth Miller, George Fawcett, Matt Moore, John Merkyl, Theodore von Eltz, and Edythe Chapman. The film was released on May 4, 1924, by Paramount Pictures.
Mary of the Movies is a 1923 American silent semi-autobiographical comedy film based on the career of Marion Mack. It was written by Mack and her husband Louis Lewyn, and stars Mack and Creighton Hale. Hale and director John McDermott play fictionalized versions of themselves in the film, which was also directed by McDermott.
Broadway After Dark is a 1924 American silent comedy film directed by Monta Bell and starring Adolphe Menjou, Norma Shearer, and Anna Q. Nilsson.
Trapped by Boston Blackie is a 1948 American crime drama directed by Seymour Friedman. It is the thirteenth of fourteen Columbia Pictures films starring Chester Morris as reformed crook Boston Blackie, and the final film with George E. Stone as his sidekick, "The Runt".
Blackie's Redemption, also known by its working title Powers That Pray, is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by John Ince. It stars Bert Lytell, Alice Lake, and Henry Kolker, and was released on April 14, 1919.
The Right of the Strongest is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Edgar Lewis and starring E.K. Lincoln, Helen Ferguson, and George Siegmann. It was adapted from a 1913 novel of the same name by Frances Nimmo Greene.