The Sacred Flame (1929 film)

{{Infobox film

| name = The Sacred Flame

| image = File:The Sacred Flame (1929 film).jpg

| caption =

| director = Archie Mayo

| based_on = The Sacred Flame by Somerset Maugham

| writer = Harvey F. Thew
De Leon Anthony

| starring = Pauline Frederick
Conrad Nagel
Lila Lee
William Courtenay

| music =

| cinematography = James Van Trees

| editing = James Gibbon

| studio = Warner Bros.

| distributor = Warner Bros.

| released = {{Film date|1929|11|24}}

| runtime = 65 minutes

| country = United States

| language = English

| budget =

| gross =

}}

The Sacred Flame is a 1929 sound (All-Talking) film directed by Archie Mayo, starring Pauline Frederick and Conrad Nagel, and based on a 1928 Broadway play of the same title by Somerset Maugham.[http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=11832 The AFI Catalog of Feature Films:..The Sacred Flame] It is now considered a lost film.{{cite web |url=https://web.stanford.edu/~gdegroat/PF/filmography.htm |title=The Films of Pauline Frederick |publisher=Greta de Groat, Metadata Librarian for Electronic and Visual Resources, Stanford University |accessdate=May 8, 2016}} Two years later Warner Brothers remade the film in German The Sacred Flame. In 1935, a second remake The Right to Live, was made, starring Colin Clive and George Brent.

Plot

Maurice Taylor a former Royal Flying Corps officer, veteran of World War I, marries Stella shortly before a plane crash that leaves him disabled. When his brother Colin arrives in England, she strikes up a close bond with him. Torn between her duty to her husband and her wish to start a new life abroad with his brother, Stella falls under suspicion of murder when her stricken husband dies.

Cast

Pauline Frederick as Mrs. Taylor
Conrad Nagel as Colonel Maurice Taylor
Lila Lee as Stella Taylor
William Courtenay as Major Laconda
Walter Byron as Colin Taylor
Dale Fuller as Nurse Wayland
Alec B. Francis as Dr. Harvester

Music

The film featured a theme song entitled "The Sacred Flame" which was composed by Grant Clarke and Harry Akst. Conrad Nagel sings the song in the film. The song is played frequently as background music by the Vitaphone orchestra throughout the film.