SILENT FILMS 1920s: THE DIVINE LADY (1929)
CREDITS
Released: March 31, 1929 (USA)
Production Company: First National Pictures
Featured Cast: Corinne Griffith, Victor Varconi, H.B. Warner, Ian Keith, Marie Dressler, Montagu Love, William Conklin, Dorothy Cumming, Michael Vavitch, Evelyn Hall, Helen Jerome Eddy, Ben Alexander, Joan Bennett, Leroy Boles, Jackie Combs, Godfrey Craig, Vondell Darr, Andy Devine, Mary Foy, Harold Goodwin, Julia Swayne Gordon, Howard Hickenlooper, Walter James, Bob Kortman, Joel McCrea, Louis Mercier, Robert Parrish, Gil Perkins, Charles Thurston, Grant Withers
Director: Frank Lloyd
Producer: Walter Morosco, Frank Lloyd
Executive Producer (uncredited): Richard A. Rowland
Cinematographer: John F. Seitz
Editor: Hugh Bennett
Composer (uncredited): Cecil Copping
Conductor (uncredited): Joseph Kaestner
Art Director: Horace Jackson
Set Decorator (uncredited): Ray Moyer
Costume Director: Max Rée
Makeup Artist (uncredited): Fred Carlton Ryle, Bert Sutch
Presenter: Richard A. Rowland
Stand-in: Corinne Griffith (uncredited): Betty Danko
Continuity: Agnes Christine JohnstonAssociate Photographer: Ralph Hammeras, Alvin Knechtel
Stunts (uncredited):Gil Perkins
Special Effects (uncredited): Harry Redmond Sr.
Writers: E. Barrington (story), Forrest Halsey (adaptation), Harry Carr (titles), Edwin Justus Mayer (titles)
STORY
A partly fictionalized account of history begins with the arrival of slatternly Emma Hart, a cook’s daughter, at the home of Charles Greville. Greville takes her as his lover and grooms her until their relationship becomes an inconvenience. Greville then dupes Emma into traveling to Naples to live with his uncle, Lord Hamilton, ambassador to the court at Naples. Realizing that Greville has abandoned her, Emma agrees to marry Lord Hamilton. Soon, however, she meets Admiral Horatio Nelson of the British Navy. Emma plays a crucial role in convincing Naples to open its ports to Nelson during his campaign against Napoleon’s French fleet. Soon, Emma and the married Nelson become romantically involved — a relationship which will have consequences for them both.
Written By: Shannon Patrick Sullivan
AWARDS
Won 1 Oscar Award. Another 2 nominations
1930
Academy Awards, USA
Nominated, Oscar
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Corinne Griffith
No official nominees had been announced this year.
Won, Oscar
Best Director
Frank Lloyd
Nominated, Oscar
Best Cinematography
John F. Seitz
No official nominees had been announced this year.
TECH
Runtime 1 hr 39 min (99 min)
1 hr 38 min (98 min) (1994 UCLA/MOMA restoration)
Sound Mix Silent | Mono (musical score and sound effects) (Western Electric Apparatus
Color Black and White
Aspect Ratio 1.33 : 1
Film Length 3,021.79 m (12 reels) (sound version) (USA)
Negative Format 35 mm
Cinematographic Process Spherical
Printed Film Format 35 mm
1994 UCLA/MOMA restoration
