When A Man Loves (1927 film)
Encyclopedia
When a Man Loves is a 1927 American silent historical drama film
directed by Alan Crosland
and produced and distributed by Warner Bros.
. The picture stars John Barrymore
and Dolores Costello
in the oft filmed story of Abbe Prevost's Manon Lescaut
.
The film was the third feature from Warners to have a pre-recorded Vitaphone
soundtrack. Many of the same people who worked on the previous years Don Juan
worked on this picture (i.e. Alan Crosland, Bess Meredyth, Harold McCord, Byron Haskin).
of 1925 presumably at his insistence. The film is the third and last film in his first Warners contract having been preceded by The Sea Beast and Don Juan. He and Crosland would re-team once again at United Artists
to make The Beloved Rogue
, another French costume story that was selected because of the popularity of When a Man Loves. This film version of When a Man Loves repeats the ending of The Sea Beast, that is supplanting a happy ending rather than the tragic ending of the source material.
The film aired on TCM
on December 12, 2006 after its restoration for Silent Sunday and again on April 11, 2010.
Historical fiction
Historical fiction tells a story that is set in the past. That setting is usually real and drawn from history, and often contains actual historical persons, but the principal characters tend to be fictional...
directed by Alan Crosland
Alan Crosland
Alan Crosland was an American stage actor and film director.-Early life and career:Born in New York City, New York to a well-to-do family, Alan Crosland attended Dartmouth College. After graduation he took a job as a writer with the New York Globe magazine...
and produced and distributed by Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
. The picture stars John Barrymore
John Barrymore
John Sidney Blyth , better known as John Barrymore, was an acclaimed American actor. He first gained fame as a handsome stage actor in light comedy, then high drama and culminating in groundbreaking portrayals in Shakespearean plays Hamlet and Richard III...
and Dolores Costello
Dolores Costello
Dolores Costello was an American film actress who achieved her greatest success during the era of silent movies. She was nicknamed "The Goddess of the Silent Screen"...
in the oft filmed story of Abbe Prevost's Manon Lescaut
Manon Lescaut
Manon Lescaut is a short novel by French author Abbé Prévost. Published in 1731, it is the seventh and final volume of Mémoires et aventures d'un homme de qualité . It was controversial in its time and was banned in France upon publication...
.
The film was the third feature from Warners to have a pre-recorded Vitaphone
Vitaphone
Vitaphone was a sound film process used on feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects produced by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National from 1926 to 1930. Vitaphone was the last, but most successful, of the sound-on-disc processes...
soundtrack. Many of the same people who worked on the previous years Don Juan
Don Juan (1926 film)
Don Juan is a Warner Brothers film, directed by Alan Crosland. It was the first feature-length film with synchronized Vitaphone sound effects and musical soundtrack, though it has no spoken dialogue...
worked on this picture (i.e. Alan Crosland, Bess Meredyth, Harold McCord, Byron Haskin).
Plot
A French adventurer studying for the priesthood fights to save a woman in the life of prostitution.Cast
- John BarrymoreJohn BarrymoreJohn Sidney Blyth , better known as John Barrymore, was an acclaimed American actor. He first gained fame as a handsome stage actor in light comedy, then high drama and culminating in groundbreaking portrayals in Shakespearean plays Hamlet and Richard III...
- Chevalier Fabien des Grieux - Dolores CostelloDolores CostelloDolores Costello was an American film actress who achieved her greatest success during the era of silent movies. She was nicknamed "The Goddess of the Silent Screen"...
- Manon Lescaut - Warner OlandWarner OlandWarner Oland was a Swedish American actor most remembered for his screen role as the detective Charlie Chan.-Biography:He was born Johan Verner Ölund in the village of Nyby, Bjurholm Municipality,...
- Andre Lescaut - Sam De GrasseSam De GrasseSamuel Alfred De Grasse was a Canadian actor. Born in Bathurst, New Brunswick, he trained to be a dentist....
- Comte Guillot de Morfontaine - Holmes HerbertHolmes HerbertHolmes Herbert was an English character actor who appeared in Hollywood films from 1915 to 1952.Born as 'Horace Jenner', Holmes Herbert emigrated to the United States in 1912. He was the first son of Ned Herbert , who worked as and actor/comedian in the English Theatre...
- Jean Tiberge - Stuart Holmes - Louis XV
- Bertram Grassby - Le Duc de Richelieu
- Tom SantschiTom SantschiTom Santschi was an American leading man and character actor of the silent film era.-Career:...
- Captain of Convinct Ship - Eugenie BessererEugenie BessererEugenie Besserer was an actress born in Watertown, New York of French Canadian parents, who starred in silent films and features of the early sound motion picture era, beginning in 1910.- Orphan in Canada:...
- Landlady (uncredited) - Marcelle CordayMarcelle CordayMarcelle Corday was a Belgian American film actress. She mostly played character parts in silent and sound films...
- Marie, A Servant (uncredited) - Myrna LoyMyrna LoyMyrna Loy was an American actress. Trained as a dancer, she devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films. Originally typecast in exotic roles, often as a vamp or a woman of Asian descent, her career prospects improved following her portrayal of Nora Charles...
- Convict Behind Manon (uncredited) - Kalla PashaKalla PashaKalla Pasha was an American professional wrestler, vaudeville comedian and screen actor active during the silent era.-Biography:Kalla Pasha was the stage name of Joseph T. Rickard, a native of Detroit...
- Sailor on Convict Ship (uncredited) - The Vitaphone Symphony Orchestra - Themselves at the end of the movie (uncredited)
Reaction
When the film was being played in the theatre, people were so amazed that the sound was coming from the speakers, not an actual orchestra. A New York Times reviewer said that he and probably the rest of the audience forgot the fact that there was actually no orchestra in the theatre. At the end of the film, The Vitaphone Symphony Orchestra was revealed to the audience for about 15 seconds.Production notes
This film yields a lot of John Barrymore's influence. It re-teams him with Dolores Costello from The Sea BeastThe Sea Beast
The Sea Beast is a silent film adaptation of the novel Moby Dick by Herman Melville, a story about a monomaniacal hunt for a great white whale...
of 1925 presumably at his insistence. The film is the third and last film in his first Warners contract having been preceded by The Sea Beast and Don Juan. He and Crosland would re-team once again at United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
to make The Beloved Rogue
The Beloved Rogue
The Beloved Rogue is a 1927 American silent film, loosely based on the life of the 15th century French poet, François Villon. The film was directed by Alan Crosland for United Artists....
, another French costume story that was selected because of the popularity of When a Man Loves. This film version of When a Man Loves repeats the ending of The Sea Beast, that is supplanting a happy ending rather than the tragic ending of the source material.
Releases
On June 16, 2009,When a Man Loves was released on DVD from Warner's Archive Collection. This was the film's first home video appearance anywhere.The film aired on TCM
Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...
on December 12, 2006 after its restoration for Silent Sunday and again on April 11, 2010.
