When a Man Loves
| When a Man Loves | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Alan Crosland |
| Produced by | Warner Bros. |
| Written by | Bess Meredyth (adaptation/scenario) |
| Based on |
Manon Lescaut by Abbe Prevost |
| Starring |
John Barrymore Dolores Costello |
| Music by |
Henry Hadley (composer) Herman Heller (orchestra conductor) |
| Cinematography |
Byron Haskin Frank Kesson |
| Edited by | Harold McCord |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 111 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language |
Silent film English intertitles |
When a Man Loves is a 1927 American silent historical drama film directed by Alan Crosland and produced and distributed by Warner Bros.. The picture stars John Barrymore and Dolores Costello in the oft filmed story of Abbe Prevost's Manon Lescaut.
The film was the third feature from Warners to have a pre-recorded Vitaphone soundtrack. Many of the same people who worked on the previous year's Don Juan worked on this picture (i.e. Alan Crosland, Bess Meredyth, Harold McCord, Byron Haskin).[1]
British release title of this film was His Lady.[2]
Synopsis
A French adventurer studying for the priesthood fights to save a woman in the life of prostitution.
Cast
- John Barrymore - Chevalier Fabien des Grieux
- Dolores Costello - Manon Lescaut
- Warner Oland - Andre Lescaut
- Sam De Grasse - Comte Guillot de Morfontaine
- Holmes Herbert - Jean Tiberge
- Stuart Holmes - Louis XV
- Bertram Grassby - Le Duc de Richelieu
- Tom Santschi - Captain of Convinct Ship
- Eugenie Besserer - Landlady (uncredited)
- Marcelle Corday - Marie, A Servant (uncredited)
- Myrna Loy - Convict Behind Manon (uncredited)
- Kalla Pasha - Sailor on Convict Ship (uncredited)
- Rose Dione - Nana (uncredited)
- Noble Johnson - An Apache (uncredited)
- Henry Hadley - Musical Score
- The Vitaphone Symphony Orchestra - Themselves at the end of the movie (uncredited)
Reaction
When the film was being played in the theatre, people were so amazed that the sound was coming from the speakers, not an actual orchestra. A New York Times reviewer said that he and probably the rest of the audience forgot the fact that there was actually no orchestra in the theatre. At the end of the film, The Vitaphone Symphony Orchestra was revealed to the audience for about 15 seconds.
Production notes
This film yields a lot of John Barrymore's influence. It re-teams him with Dolores Costello from The Sea Beast of 1925 presumably at his insistence. The film is the third and last film in his first Warners contract having been preceded by The Sea Beast and Don Juan. He and Crosland would re-team once again at United Artists to make The Beloved Rogue, another French costume story that was selected because of the popularity of When a Man Loves. This film version of When a Man Loves repeats the ending of The Sea Beast, that is supplanting a happy ending rather than the tragic ending of the source material.[3]
Releases
On June 16, 2009,When a Man Loves was released on DVD from Warner's Archive Collection. This was the film's first home video appearance anywhere.[4]
References
- ↑ The American Film Institute Catalog Feature Films: 1921-30 by The American Film Institute, c. 1971
- ↑ British titled novelization of the film
- ↑ John Barrymore, A Bio-bibliography by Martin Norden, c.1995
- ↑ When a Man Loves at silentera.com database
External links
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