Noah's Ark (film)

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for the Biblical story, see Noah's Ark
Noah’s Ark

Film poster
Directed by Michael Curtiz
Starring George O'Brien
Dolores Costello
Music by Louis Silvers
Alois Reiser
Cinematography Barney McGill
Hal Mohr
Editing by Harold McCord
Distributed by Warner Brothers
Release date(s) 1929
Running time 135 minutes
Country Flag of United States United States
Language English
IMDb profile

Noah’s Ark is a 1929 American early romantic Melodrama disaster film directed by Michael Curtiz and written by Darryl F. Zanuck. The film starred George O’Brien and Dolores Costello. Released by Warner Brothers studio, the film was important in that it was representative of the transition from silent movies to “talkies”, although it was essentially a silent film with a few scenes that included recorded dialog (called "part-talkies") utilizing new (at that time) Vitaphone sound-on-disc technology. Two thirds of the film takes place during World War I, with the rest comprising a flashback to the time of the Biblical Noah.

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

On the eve of “The Great War” (WWI), American Travis (George O’Brien) and German Marie (Dolores Costello) meet on the Orient Express, which wrecks when a bridge washes out. Travis, and his friend Al, rescue Marie, and Travis falls in love with her. When the war breaks out, Al enlists and Travis follows him shortly, after the two lovers have married. When a Russian military officer (Noah Beery) accuses Marie of being a German spy, she is sentenced to face a firing squad, but Travis, who is part of the squad resques her in the nick of time. When the French town they are hiding in is bombed by the Germans, the couple and others are trapped below a demolished building. Here, a minister makes a lengthy comparison of the war to the ancient Biblical account of the time of Noah and the Flood.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Uncredited cast

  • Joe Bonomo .... Aide to Leader of Soldiers
  • Andy Devine .... Flood Extra
  • Alphonse Martell .... French Policeman
  • Torben Meyer .... Man on Train
  • Nina Quartero .... French Girl
  • Cliff Saum .... Soldier in Trench
  • John Wayne .... Flood Extra

[edit] Release & re-release

Movie poster for the film.
Movie poster for the film.

The film premiered in Hollywood in late 1928, and was scheduled to be released originally as a silent film in 1929. Warner Bros. withdrew the film and added several scenes of dialogue and a soundtrack, then re-released it later the same year, due largely to the overwhelming success of the Jazz Singer.

The film was re-released in 1957 (or at least 75 minutes of it), with only the silent portions featuring the story of the Ark utilized. The dialogue and soundtrack portions envolving the modern storyline were cut out.

[edit] Preservation

The original release of 135 minutes is no longer extant. This film has been partially restored to the length of 100 minutes by the UCLA Film and Television Archive in conjunction with the project American Moviemakers: The Dawn of Sound. It was released in laserdisc format in October, 1993.

[edit] Trivia

  • John Wayne and Andy Divine appeared among the hundreds of extras in the flood scene. Wayne also worked in the arts and costume department for the film.
  • Dolores Costello caught a severe case of pneumonia during the filming of the flood scene.
  • During the filming of the climactic flood scene, the great volume of water used was so overwhelming to the actors, that three extras drowned, one was so badly injured that his leg needed to be amputated, and a number suffered broken limbs and other serious injuries. [1]

[edit] External links


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