Sadie Thompson
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| Sadie Thompson | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Raoul Walsh |
| Produced by | Raoul Walsh Gloria Swanson |
| Written by | Raoul Walsh |
| Starring | Gloria Swanson Lionel Barrymore Blanche Frederici Charles Lane |
| Cinematography | George Barnes Robert Kurrle Oliver T. Marsh |
| Editing by | C. Gardner Sullivan |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
| Release date(s) |  January 7, 1928 December 1, 1929 |
| Running time | 91 min. |
| Country | U.S.A. |
| Language | Silent film English intertitles |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Sadie Thompson (1928) is a silent film which tells the story of a "fallen" woman who comes to Pago Pago on the island of Tutuila to start a new life, but encounters a zealous missionary who wants to force her back to her former life in San Francisco. The film stars Gloria Swanson, Lionel Barrymore, Blanche Frederici, Charles Lane, Florence Midgley, James A. Marcus, Sophia Artega, Will Stanton and Raoul Walsh.
The movie was adapted by Raoul Walsh and C. Gardner Sullivan (titles) from the play Rain (1923) by John Colton and Clemence Randolph originally produced at the Garrick Theatre on May 12, 1925. Their three-act play had been adapted from the short story, originally titled Miss Thompson as written and then serialised in April 1921 by W. Somerset Maugham but later published as Rain (also in 1921).
The original movie, directed by Walsh, was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Gloria Swanson) and Best Cinematography.
Lip readers can tell that Swanson, in character as Sadie Thompson, swears several times[citation needed], but since the title cards do not reflect the swearing, the movie was released uncensored.
[edit] Other film adaptations
- 1932 - as Rain, starring Joan Crawford, Walter Huston, Guy Kibbee and Beulah Bondi; adapted by Maxwell Anderson, directed by Lewis Milestone.
- 1946 - as Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A., starring Francine Everett and Don Wilson, adapted by True T. Thompson, directed by Spencer Williams
- 1949 - a film noirish "Sadie Thompson" dance number from the Marx Brothers film Love Happy features Vera-Ellen dancing with a group of World War II Marines led by Paul Valentine.
- 1953 - as Miss Sadie Thompson, starring Rita Hayworth, José Ferrer, Aldo Ray and Charles Bronson; adapted by Harry Kleiner, directed by Curtis Bernhardt. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Music, Song (for Lester Lee and Ned Washington's "Sadie Thompson's Song (Blue Pacific Blues)").
