The Scarlet Letter (1934 film)

The Scarlet Letter is a 1934 American film directed by Robert G. Vignola and based on the 1850 novel of the same name by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

The Scarlet Letter
Lobby card
Directed byRobert G. Vignola
Produced byLarry Darmour
Written byLeonard Fields
David Silverstein
Based onThe Scarlet Letter
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
StarringColleen Moore
Hardie Albright
Henry B. Walthall
Alan Hale
Music byAbe Meyer
CinematographyJames S. Brown Jr.
Edited byCharles Harris
Production
company
Darmour Productions
Distributed byMajestic Pictures
Release date
  • September 18, 1934 (1934-09-18)
Running time
69 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

It was shot in Sherman Oaks, California. It was the only film Colleen Moore ever said she made for the money. She was reportedly preparing to take her dollhouse on tour for charity, and saw the film as an opportunity to make a last film with friends.

Henry B. Walthall played Roger Chillingworth in both this and the 1926 silent version.

The film has been preserved by the UCLA Film & Television Archive.

Plot summary

Hester Prynne has a child out of wedlock and refuses to name the father (who is a respected citizen). For this, she is sentenced to wear a red letter "A" (for adultery). Her husband is long missing and presumed dead. When the husband returns and finds his wife with another man's child, he sets out to torture them. At last, the father reveals himself, with a letter "A" carved in his chest.

Cast

Reception

National Board of Review gave a negative review, criticizing the script and "Vignola's static, uninspired direction", but appreciated Moore's performance, considered "the only good thing in the picture".[1]

Bibliography
  • Jeff Codori (2012), Colleen Moore; A Biography of the Silent Film Star, McFarland Publishing,(Print ISBN 978-0-7864-4969-9, EBook ISBN 978-0-7864-8899-5).

References
  1. National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, Films in Review - Volume 14, 1963, p.421


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.