Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1924 film)
{{short description|1924 film by Marshall Neilan}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Tess of the d'Urbervilles
| image = Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1924) - 1.jpg
| caption = Newspaper advertisement
| director = Marshall Neilan
| producer = Louis B. Mayer
| writer = Dorothy Farnum
| based_on = {{based on|Tess of the d'Urbervilles|Thomas Hardy}}
| starring = Blanche Sweet
Conrad Nagel
Stuart Holmes
| music =
| cinematography = David Kesson
| editing =
| distributor = Metro-Goldwyn
| released = {{Film date|1924|08|11}}
| runtime = 80 minutes
| country = United States
| language = Silent (English intertitles)
}}
Tess of the d'Urbervilles is a 1924 American silent drama film starring Blanche Sweet and Conrad Nagel.Variety film review; July 30, 1924, p. 24.Harrison's Reports review; August 2, 1924; p. 123. It was directed by Sweet's husband, Marshall Neilan. The film is the second motion picture adaptation of the 1891 novel by Thomas Hardy, which had been turned into a very successful 1897 play starring Mrs. Fiske.{{cite web |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/5580 |title=Tess of the d'Urbervilles |website=IBDB.com |publisher=Internet Broadway Database }} In 1913, Adolph Zukor enticed Mrs. Fiske to reprise her role in a film version which is now considered lost. The 1924 version is also considered lost.[http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/T/TessOfTheDUrbervilles1924.html Progressive Silent Film List: Tess of the d'Urbervilles] at silentera.com
Plot
A young servant girl is seduced and raped by an older middle class man in Victorian England when employed in his household. After moving on with her path, she gets married. All is well until her husband discovers her past. This fact prompts her on a life of wandering, murder, and execution.
Cast
{{Cast listing|
- Blanche Sweet as Teresa "Tess" Durbeyfield
- Conrad Nagel as Angel Clare
- Stuart Holmes as Alexander "Alec" D'Urberville
- George Fawcett as John Durbeyfield
- Victory Bateman as Joan Durbeyfield
- Courtenay Foote as Richard Crick
- Joseph J. Dowling as The Parson
- Billy Butts as Little Boy (uncredited)
- George Hickman as Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)
- Babe London as Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)
- Jane Mercer as Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)
}}
Production
After the film was completed, Louis B. Mayer changed the tragic ending to a happy one, much to the annoyance of Neilan and Hardy.Eames, John Douglas (1982). The MGM Story: The Complete History of Fifty-Seven Roaring Years, Crown Publishers, p. 12 {{ISBN|0-5175-3810-5}}
Preservation
With no prints of Tess of the d'Urbervilles located in any film archives,[http://lcweb2.loc.gov:8081/diglib/ihas/loc.mbrs.sfdb.9734/default.html Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: Tess of the d'Urbervilles] it is a lost film.
See also
- Blanche Sweet filmography
- Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1913)
- Tess (1979)
- Tess of the D'Urbervilles (2008)
- List of lost films
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1924 film)}}
- {{IMDb title|0015394}}
- [https://www.flickr.com/photos/italiangerry/5393959110/ Period advertisement Tess of the d'Urbervilles]
- [http://www.emovieposter.com/images/announcements/coolitems/pb_tess_of_the_durbervilles_frontcover.jpg Pressbook promotional for the film]
{{Tess of the d'Urbervilles}}
{{Marshall Neilan}}
Category:1920s historical drama films
Category:American black-and-white films
Category:American historical drama films
Category:American silent feature films
Category:Films based on Tess of the d'Urbervilles
Category:Films directed by Marshall Neilan
Category:Films set in the 19th century
Category:Lost American drama films