Allan Dwan was a pioneering Canadian-born American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter.
Gloria Josephine Mae Swanson was an American actress. She first achieved fame acting in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, most famously for her 1950 turn in Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard, which also earned her a Golden Globe Award.
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. Due to the public's apathy towards silent films, a sound version was prepared in the latter half of 1928. While the sound version has no audible dialog, it features a synchronized musical score with sound effects along with a theme song.
The Trespasser is a 1929 American pre-Code film written and directed by Edmund Goulding and starring Gloria Swanson, Robert Ames, Purnell Pratt, Henry B. Walthall, and Wally Albright. The film was released by United Artists in both silent and sound versions.
A lost film is a feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. Early films were not thought to have value beyond their theatrical run, so many were discarded afterward. Nitrate film used in early pictures was highly flammable and susceptible to degradation. The Library of Congress began acquiring copies of American films in 1909, but not all were kept. Due to improvements in film technology and recordkeeping, few films produced in the 1950s or beyond have been lost.
The Great Moment is a 1921 American silent drama film directed by Sam Wood and starring Gloria Swanson, Alec B. Francis, and Milton Sills. The film is now considered lost though a fragment exists and is preserved at the BFI National Archive.
The Coast of Folly is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Allan Dwan and starring Gloria Swanson in a dual role as mother and daughter. Richard Arlen had a small part in the film but his scenes were cut before its release. The film was based on the novel of the same name by Coningsby William Dawson, and adapted for the screen by James Ashmore Creelman.
Stage Struck is a 1925 American silent comedy film starring Gloria Swanson, Lawrence Gray, Gertrude Astor, and Ford Sterling. The film was directed by Allan Dwan, and released by Paramount Pictures with the opening and ending sequences filmed in the early two-color Technicolor.
Fine Manners is a 1926 American black-and-white silent comedy film directed initially by Lewis Milestone and completed by Richard Rosson for Famous Players–Lasky/Paramount Pictures. After an argument with actress Gloria Swanson, director Milestone walked off the project, causing the film to be completed by Rosson, who had picked up directorial tricks while working as an assistant director to Allan Dwan. The success of the film, being Rosson's first directorial effort since he co-directed Her Father's Keeper in 1917 with his brother Arthur Rosson, won him a long-term contract with Famous Players–Lasky.
Manhandled is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Allan Dwan and starring Gloria Swanson. The film was produced by Famous Players–Lasky at their East Coast Astoria Studios facility and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The supporting cast includes Frank Morgan. A young woman goes out partying when her hard-working boyfriend neglects her.
Zaza is a 1923 American silent romantic drama film directed and produced by Allan Dwan, and starring Gloria Swanson. This film is based on the 1899 French play of the same name produced on Broadway by David Belasco and starring Mrs. Leslie Carter. The film was shot at Paramount's Astoria Studios in New York City.
The Humming Bird is a 1924 American silent crime drama film directed by Sidney Olcott and starring Gloria Swanson. Produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures, the film is based on the play of the same name by Maude Fulton, who also starred in the Broadway production.
A Society Scandal is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Allan Dwan, and starring Gloria Swanson and Rod La Rocque. Distributed by Paramount Pictures, the film is based on a 1922 play The Laughing Lady, by Alfred Sutro which starred Ethel Barrymore in 1923 on Broadway and originally in 1922 with Edith Evans in UK.
Frozen Justice is a 1929 American pre-Code drama film directed by Allan Dwan. The picture starred Lenore Ulric in her first sound film and is based on the 1920 novel, Norden For Lov og Ret, by Ejnar Mikkelsen. A shorter, silent version of the film was also released. The film was set in Nome, Alaska during the Klondike Gold Rush in 1898 and 1899.
Zaza is a 1915 American silent romantic drama film produced by Famous Players Film Company in association with the Charles Frohman Company, and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by Edwin S. Porter and Hugh Ford and stars Pauline Frederick in the title role. The film is based on the 1899 French stage play of the same name that starred Mrs. Leslie Carter, and the American adaptation by David Belasco.
David Harum is a 1915 American silent comedy-drama romance film written and directed by Allan Dwan, produced by Famous Players Film Company and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is based on the 1898 novel of the same name by Edward Noyes Westcott and the 1900 Broadway play based on the novel, starring William H. Crane. Crane agreed to star in the film only if the film was written exactly as the play. David Harum is the only film of Dwan's for Famous Players that still survives. A print is preserved at the George Eastman House in Rochester, New York and the Cinémathèque Française in Paris.
The Enemy Sex is a 1924 American silent drama film starring Betty Compson and directed by her husband James Cruze. It was produced by Famous Players–Lasky and released by Paramount Pictures. It is taken from the 1914 novel The Salamander by Owen Johnson.
Her Love Story is a 1924 American silent romantic drama film directed by Allan Dwan and starring Gloria Swanson. It was produced by Famous Players–Lasky, distributed by Paramount Pictures, and based on the short story "Her Majesty, the Queen" by Mary Roberts Rinehart.
The Straight Road is a 1914 American drama silent film based upon the play by Clyde Fitch, directed by Allan Dwan, and starring Gladys Hanson, William Russell, Iva Shepard, Arthur Hoops and Lorraine Huling. It was released on November 12, 1914, by Paramount Pictures.
Wages of Virtue is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Allan Dwan and written by Forrest Halsey and Percival Christopher Wren. The film stars Gloria Swanson, Ben Lyon, Norman Trevor, Ivan Linow, Armand Cortes, Adrienne D'Ambricourt, and Paul Panzer. The film was released on November 10, 1924, by Paramount Pictures. It was shot at the Astoria Studios in New York.
