Lights of Old Broadway

Lights of Old Broadway
Theatrical poster
Directed byMonta Bell
Written byCarey Wilson (adaptation & scenario)
Joseph Farnham (intertitles)
Based onThe Merry Wives of Gotham
by Laurence Eyre
Produced byCosmopolitan Productions
StarringMarion Davies
Conrad Nagel
CinematographyIra H. Morgan
Edited byBlanche Sewell
Distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • November 1925 (1925-11)
Running time
70 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent (English intertitles)
Lights of Old Broadway (1925) by Monta Bell

Lights of Old Broadway is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Monta Bell, produced by William Randolph Hearst's Cosmopolitan Productions, and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film stars Marion Davies in a dual role and Conrad Nagel, and is an adaptation of the play The Merry Wives of Gotham by Laurence Eyre (USA). The film has color sequences using tinting, Technicolor, and the Handschiegl color process.[1][2]

The play was produced on Broadway at Henry Miller's Theatre from January 16, 1924 to April 1924. Davies' role was played on the stage by actress Mary Ellis.[3]

Lights of Old Broadway film still.
Advertisement from Motion Picture News, 1925

Plot

As described in a film magazine review,[4] two young women, twins, whose mother dies while the family is en route from Ireland to the United States, are separated in New York City, Anne being adopted by a wealthy family and the other, Fely, by a poor family. Dirk, Anne's adopted brother, meets the poor sister, and love draws them together. The youth’s family objects to his romance, but are reconciled when the poor sister saves Dirk’s father from death, and the two are then wed. A subplot involves the coming of electricity to New York City.

Cast

Production

In her 21st film, Marion Davies starred as twins separated at birth. The dark-haired girl is brought up in a wealthy home, while the blonde is brought up in the tenement slums and becomes a musical-comedy star. This MGM production saw Davies in the first of three teamings with Conrad Nagel and was also the first Davies production in which Louis B. Mayer and Irving Thalberg became involved. This was the first Davies film to use 2-strip Technicolor (which survives). The finale also includes the same hand-coloring technique (Handschiegl) that had been used in When Knighthood Was in Flower. The film was a big hit and resulted in a long-term contract with MGM.[5]

Preservation

Prints of Lights of Old Broadway are preserved at the Library of Congress and UCLA Film and Television Archive.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ Layton, James; Pierce, David (February 24, 2015). The Dawn of Technicolor: 1915-1935. Rochester, New York: George Eastman House. p. 127. ISBN 978-0935398281.
  2. ^ Progressive Silent Film List: Lights of Old Broadway at silentera.com
  3. ^ Lights of Old Broadway as produced on Broadway at Henry Miller's Theatre January 16, 1924-April 1924; IBDb.com
  4. ^ "New Pictures: Lights of Old Broadway", Exhibitors Herald, 23 (10), Chicago, Illinois: Exhibitors Herald Company: 70, November 28, 1925, retrieved November 14, 2022 Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ^ Lorusso, Edward (2017) The Silent Films of Marion Davies, CreateSpace, pp. 113-115. ISBN 978-1-5472-4795-0
  6. ^ The Library of Congress / FIAF American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: Lights of Old Broadway
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