Glorious Betsy

Glorious Betsy

1928 theatrical poster
Directed by
Produced by Warner Brothers
Screenplay by
Based on Glorious Betsy 
by Rida Johnson Young
Starring
Cinematography Hal Mohr
Edited by Thomas Pratt
Distributed by Warner Brothers
Release dates
  • April 26, 1928
Running time
7-8 reels; 7,091 feet (80 minutes)
Country United States
Language Silent film (English intertitles); English dialogue

Glorious Betsy is a 1928 silent film with talking sequences. It is based on a play of the same name by Rida Johnson Young and starring Dolores Costello. It was produced by Warner Brothers and was nominated for (but did not win) an Academy Award for Best Writing, Adaptation in 1929. The film was directed by Alan Crosland with cinematography by Hal Mohr. A mute print of this film, minus its Vitaphone tracks, survives in the Library of Congress, and while their copy of this film is missing some of the sound reels, it is unknown whether other copies of the sound have been preserved elsewhere.[1][2][3][4]

Although the film was written by both Anthony Coldeway and Jack Jarmuth (the latter credited only for title cards), only Coldeway was nominated for the Academy Award.

Plot

The film is a semi-historical narrative and depicts the real-life courtship, marriage, and forced breakup of Jérôme Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon, and his wife from the American south, Elizabeth Patterson. Napoleon did not approve of the union (despite the fact that her family was one of the wealthiest in America) and the marriage was annulled. Jerome was subsequently forced to marry Catharina of Württemberg. They had one child, depicted in the film, Jérôme Napoleon Bonaparte. In order to provide a "happy ending", Jerome in the film leaves France to be with his wife. However, in historical fact he remained in Europe.

Cast

References

  1. Glorious Betsy at silentera.com database
  2. The American Film Institute Catalog Feature Films: 1921-30 by The American Film Institute, c. 1971
  3. Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artist Collection at The Library of Congress by The American Film Institute, c.1978
  4. The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: Glorious Betsy

External links