The Great Divide (1925 film)
Encyclopedia
The Great Divide is a silent
1925
drama film
produced and distributed by MGM and directed by Reginald Barker. The film stars Alice Terry
, Conway Tearle
and Wallace Beery
. It is based on the William Vaughn Moody
play, being the second of three film adaptations. The play had been made famous on the 1906 Broadway stage with Margaret Anglin
, Henry Miller
, Laura Hope Crews
and a pre-Griffith Henry B. Walthall
in the principal parts.
movie, one of 17 fully lost out of 29 films Alice Terry appeared in (excluding four bits as an extra). No negative or positive elements are known to have survived.
The first adaptation of the play dates from 1915 and the third from 1929, with the latter also directed by Reginald Barker. The first sound version was the film Woman Hungry with Lila Lee
and Sidney Blackmer
. It is now a lost film..
One of the few films Alice Terry starred in that wasn't directed by her husband Rex Ingram
.
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
1925
1925 in film
-Events:*November 5: The Big Parade holds its Grand Premier*December 30: premier of Ben-Hur the most expensive silent film ever made costing 4-6 million dollars -Top grossing films :...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
produced and distributed by MGM and directed by Reginald Barker. The film stars Alice Terry
Alice Terry
Alice Terry was an American film actress who began her career during the silent film era, appearing in thirty-nine films between 1916 and 1933.-Career:...
, Conway Tearle
Conway Tearle
Conway Tearle was an Anglo-American stage actor who went on to perform in silent and early sound films.-Early life:...
and Wallace Beery
Wallace Beery
Wallace Fitzgerald Beery was an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in Min and Bill opposite Marie Dressler, as Long John Silver in Treasure Island, as Pancho Villa in Viva Villa!, and his titular role in The Champ, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...
. It is based on the William Vaughn Moody
William Vaughn Moody
William Vaughn Moody was a United States dramatist and poet. Author of The Great Divide, first presented under the title of The Sabine Woman at the Garrick Theatre in Chicago on April 12, 1906...
play, being the second of three film adaptations. The play had been made famous on the 1906 Broadway stage with Margaret Anglin
Margaret Anglin
Mary Margaret Anglin was a Canadian-born Broadway actress, director and producer whom Encyclopædia Britannica calls "one of the most brilliant actresses of her day."...
, Henry Miller
Henry Miller (actor)
Henry Miller was an English-born American actor, director, theatrical producer and manager.Born as John Pegge in London, Miller's parents immigrated to Canada where he started acting as a juvenile. He became the leading man in Charles Frohman's stock company in New York City's Empire Theatre in 1893...
, Laura Hope Crews
Laura Hope Crews
Laura Hope Crews was a leading actress of the American stage in the first decades of the 20th century who is best remembered today for her later work as a character actress in motion pictures of the 1930s...
and a pre-Griffith Henry B. Walthall
Henry B. Walthall
Henry Brazeale Walthall was an American film actor.-Career:Walthall began his career as a stage actor, appearing on Broadway in a supporting role in William Vaughn Moody's The Great Divide in 1906–1908. His career in movies began in 1908, in the film Rescued from an Eagle's Nest, which also...
in the principal parts.
Plot
Ruth Jordan is a gentlewoman rescued from a fate worse than death by Stephen Ghent—facing Dutch, the nastiest man in the West.Legacy
Although the film was a moneymaker, it is currently a lostLost film
A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...
movie, one of 17 fully lost out of 29 films Alice Terry appeared in (excluding four bits as an extra). No negative or positive elements are known to have survived.
The first adaptation of the play dates from 1915 and the third from 1929, with the latter also directed by Reginald Barker. The first sound version was the film Woman Hungry with Lila Lee
Lila Lee
Lila Lee was a prominent screen actress of the early silent film era.-Early life:Lila Lee was born Augusta Wilhelmena Fredericka Appel in Union Hill, New Jersey into a middle-class family of German immigrants who relocated to New York City when Lila was quite young...
and Sidney Blackmer
Sidney Blackmer
Sidney Alderman Blackmer was an American actor.Blackmer was born and raised in Salisbury, North Carolina. He started off in an insurance and financial business but gave up on it. While working as a builder's laborer on a new building, he saw a Pearl White serial being filmed and immediately...
. It is now a lost film..
One of the few films Alice Terry starred in that wasn't directed by her husband Rex Ingram
Rex Ingram (director)
Rex Ingram was an Irish film director, producer, writer and actor. Legendary director Erich von Stroheim once called him "the world's greatest director."-Early life:...
.
Cast
- Alice TerryAlice TerryAlice Terry was an American film actress who began her career during the silent film era, appearing in thirty-nine films between 1916 and 1933.-Career:...
- Ruth Jordan - Conway TearleConway TearleConway Tearle was an Anglo-American stage actor who went on to perform in silent and early sound films.-Early life:...
- Stephen Ghent - Wallace BeeryWallace BeeryWallace Fitzgerald Beery was an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in Min and Bill opposite Marie Dressler, as Long John Silver in Treasure Island, as Pancho Villa in Viva Villa!, and his titular role in The Champ, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...
- Dutch - Huntley GordonHuntley GordonHuntley Gordon was an actor born in Montreal, Quebec.-Profile:Gordon was educated in both Canada and England. He had various jobs including working in a bank, in a silver mine, contracting, as a commercial traveller, and being a cigarette factory owner before settling on the stage and at one time...
- Philip Jordan (as Huntly Gordon) - Allan ForrestAllan ForrestAllan Forrest was an American silent film actor.-Life and career:He starred in 119 films mostly silent between 1913 and 1932 in films such as The Torch Bearer, with actresses such as Charlotte Burton....
- Dr. Winthrop Newbury - George CooperGeorge Cooper (actor)George Cooper was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared on stage first, then in 210 films between 1911 and 1940...
- Shorty - Zasu PittsZaSu PittsZaSu Pitts was an American actress who starred in many silent dramas and comedies, transitioning to comedy sound films.-Early life:ZaSu Pitts was born in Parsons, Kansas to Rulandus and Nellie Pitts; she was the third of four children...
- Polly Jordan - William OrlamondWilliam OrlamondWilliam Orlamond was an American film actor.Orlamond appeared in 81 films between 1912 and 1938. He was born in Copenhagen, Denmark and died in Los Angeles, California, United States.-Selected filmography:...
- Lon