The Godless Girl
The Godless Girl | |
---|---|
J. Peverell Marley | |
Edited by | Anne Bauchens |
Distributed by | Pathé Exchange |
Release dates |
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Running time | 113 minutes |
Country | United States |
Languages | Sound (Part-Talkie) English intertitles |
The Godless Girl is a 1928 American sound part-talkie dramatic directed by Cecil B. DeMille. In addition to sequences with audible dialogue or talking sequences, the film features a synchronized musical score and sound effects along with English intertitles. The soundtrack was recorded using the RCA Photophone sound-on-film system. The cast features Lina Basquette, Marie Prevost, Tom Keene, and Noah Beery.[1]
Plot
This drama features a romance between two different teenagers: a young
Cast
- Lina Basquette as Judy Craig, The Girl
- Marie Prevost as Mame, The Other Girl
- Tom Keene as Bob Hathaway, The Boy (credited as George Duryea)
- Noah Beery as The Brute
- Eddie Quillan as Samuel 'Bozo' Johnson, The Goat
- Mary Jane Irving as The Victim
- Hedwiga Reicher as Prison Matron (credited as Hedwig Reicher)
- Clarence Burton as Prison Guard
- Richard Alexander as Prison Guard (credited as Dick Alexander)
- Kate Priceas Prison Matron
- Julia Faye as Inmate
- Viola Louie as Inmate
- Emily Barrye as Inmate
Music
The film features a theme song entitled "Love (All I Want Is Love)" which was composed by Josiah Zuro and Charles Weinberg. It is sung and played several times on the soundtrack and serves as the love theme for the film.
Production
The film was inspired by a real-life incident at Hollywood High School when a student called Queen Silver started an atheist society.[2] She was a child prodigy and socialist orator, accused of leaving atheist pamphlets in student lockers at Hollywood High School in 1927.[3] The lead actress, Lina Basquette, named her autobiography, Lina: DeMille's Godless Girl, after the film.
The UCLA Film and Television Archive restored the film's sound version, in which dialogue scenes were added to the final reel, a film that was one of DeMille's first part-sound efforts. Actor Fritz Feld filmed the sound sequences without DeMille's supervision since DeMille had already broken his contract with Pathé, and signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.[4]
Reception
The film was very popular in the
Preservation
In 2007, a version was released by
See also
Notes
- ^ Progressive Silent Film List: The Godless Girl at silentera.com
- ^ The Godless Girl: Introduction to the 1928 classic by Cecil B. DeMille
- ^ Queen Silver: The Godless Girl by Wendy McElroy, Prometheus Books
- ^ The Crank Film Series, UCLA, film notes Archived February 6, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Ben Mankiewicz in Turner Classic Movies discussion of the film.
External links
- The Godless Girl at IMDb
- Synopsis at AllMovie
- The Godless Girl at Virtual History
- UCLA Graduate Student Film Programming: The Crank
- The Godless Girl at Turner Classic Movies