The Trespasser
Encyclopedia
The Trespasser is an American film directed and written by Edmund Goulding
, starring Gloria Swanson
, Robert Ames
, Purnell Pratt
, Henry B. Walthall
, and Wally Albright
, and released by United Artists
.
nomination for (Gloria Swanson) in her talkie debut. The film was written and directed by Edmund Goulding and was first filmed as a silent film
. A talkie version was quickly made and was a smash hit for its star, Gloria Swanson. Goulding remade
the film as That Certain Woman
(1937) with Bette Davis
and Henry Fonda
.
(1931), Tonight or Never
(1931), Perfect Understanding
(1933), and Music in the Air
(1934) all proved to be box-office flops.
The Trespasser was an important film for Swanson, following the disastrous Queen Kelly
(1929) and the hit Sadie Thompson
(1928). This was Swanson's second Oscar nomination. Despite the disappointments following The Trespasser, Swanson was well remembered by Billy Wilder
, a writer on Music in the Air, when he was casting the part of Norma Desmond in his masterpiece Sunset Boulevard (1950).
Edmund Goulding
Edmund Goulding was a British film writer and director. As an actor early in his career he was one of the 'Ghosts' in the 1922 British made Paramount silent Three Live Ghosts alongside Norman Kerry and Cyril Chadwick. Also in the early 20s he wrote several screenplays for star Mae Murray and...
, starring Gloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson was an American actress, singer and producer. She was one of the most prominent stars during the silent film era as both an actress and a fashion icon, especially under the direction of Cecil B. DeMille, made dozens of silents and was nominated for the first Academy Award in the...
, Robert Ames
Robert Ames
Robert Downing Ames was an American stage and film actor whose career was cut short by his untimely death at age 42.-Birth:Robert Ames was born on March 23, 1889 at Hartford, Connecticut, wher his father, Louis Mason Ames, was employed as an accountant for an insurance company and his mother, Mary...
, Purnell Pratt
Purnell Pratt
Purnell Pratt was an American film actor. He appeared in 114 films between 1914 and 1941.He was born in Bethel, Illinois and died in Hollywood, California.-Selected filmography:* On with the Show...
, 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...
, and Wally Albright
Wally Albright
Wally Albright was an American former child actor.-Career:Albright was born Walton Algernon Albright, Jr. in Burbank, California. He appeared in a number of films during his career, and is notable for appearing in six Our Gang short subjects throughout the early 1930s...
, and released by United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
.
Plot
The film tells the story of a "kept woman" who maintains a lavish life style with the help of her lover.Production background
The film earned an Academy AwardAcademy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
nomination for (Gloria Swanson) in her talkie debut. The film was written and directed by Edmund Goulding and was first filmed as a silent film
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...
. A talkie version was quickly made and was a smash hit for its star, Gloria Swanson. Goulding remade
Remake
A remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
the film as That Certain Woman
That Certain Woman
That Certain Woman is a 1937 American drama film written and directed by Edmund Goulding. It is a remake of Goulding's 1929 film The Tresspasser, Gloria Swanson's first sound film.-Synopsis:...
(1937) with Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
and Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
.
Legacy
Sadly for Swanson, The Trespasser proved to be one of her only two hit talkies, the other being Sunset Boulevard (1950), over 20 years later. Subsequent films like What a Widow! (1930), IndiscreetIndiscreet (1931 film)
Indiscreet is an American comedy film directed by Leo McCarey and starring Gloria Swanson and Ben Lyon. The screenplay by Buddy G. DeSylva, Lew Brown, and Ray Henderson, based on their story Obey That Impulse, originally was written as a full-fledged musical, but only two songs - "If You Haven't...
(1931), Tonight or Never
Tonight or Never
Tonight or Never is a comedy film directed by Mervyn LeRoy, starring Gloria Swanson and featuring Boris Karloff.-Plot:Nella Vargo is a Hungarian prima donna whose latest performances include singing Tosca in Venice...
(1931), Perfect Understanding
Perfect Understanding
Perfect Understanding is a 1933 British comedy film directed by Cyril Gardner and starring Laurence Olivier, Gloria Swanson and John Halliday.-Plot:...
(1933), and Music in the Air
Music in the Air
Music in the Air is a musical written by Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern . It introduced songs such as "The Song Is You", "In Egern on the Tegern See" and "I've Told Ev'ry Little Star"...
(1934) all proved to be box-office flops.
The Trespasser was an important film for Swanson, following the disastrous Queen Kelly
Queen Kelly
Queen Kelly is the title of an American silent film produced in 1928-29 and released in 1929, originally by United Artists. The film was directed by Erich von Stroheim, starred Gloria Swanson in the title role, and also starred Walter Byron and Seena Owen. It was produced by Joseph P...
(1929) and the hit Sadie Thompson
Sadie Thompson
Sadie Thompson is an American silent film that tells the story of a "fallen woman" who comes to Pago Pago on the island of Tutuila to start a new life, but encounters a zealous missionary who wants to force her back to her former life in San Francisco. The film stars Gloria Swanson, Lionel...
(1928). This was Swanson's second Oscar nomination. Despite the disappointments following The Trespasser, Swanson was well remembered by Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder was an Austro-Hungarian born American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist, and journalist, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age...
, a writer on Music in the Air, when he was casting the part of Norma Desmond in his masterpiece Sunset Boulevard (1950).
Cast
- Gloria SwansonGloria SwansonGloria Swanson was an American actress, singer and producer. She was one of the most prominent stars during the silent film era as both an actress and a fashion icon, especially under the direction of Cecil B. DeMille, made dozens of silents and was nominated for the first Academy Award in the...
as Marion Donnell - Robert AmesRobert AmesRobert Downing Ames was an American stage and film actor whose career was cut short by his untimely death at age 42.-Birth:Robert Ames was born on March 23, 1889 at Hartford, Connecticut, wher his father, Louis Mason Ames, was employed as an accountant for an insurance company and his mother, Mary...
as Jack Merrick - Purnell PrattPurnell PrattPurnell Pratt was an American film actor. He appeared in 114 films between 1914 and 1941.He was born in Bethel, Illinois and died in Hollywood, California.-Selected filmography:* On with the Show...
as Hector Ferguson - Henry B. WalthallHenry B. WalthallHenry 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...
as Fuller - Wally AlbrightWally AlbrightWally Albright was an American former child actor.-Career:Albright was born Walton Algernon Albright, Jr. in Burbank, California. He appeared in a number of films during his career, and is notable for appearing in six Our Gang short subjects throughout the early 1930s...
as Jackie - William Holden as John Merrick Sr. (not to be confused with the actor who starred with Swanson in Sunset Boulevard)
- Blanche FridericiBlanche FridericiBlanche Friderici , sometimes credited as Blanche Frederici, was an American film and stage actress.-Early life and education:She was born in Brooklyn, New York.-Theatre:...
as Miss Potter (as Blanche Frederici) - Kay Hammond as Catherine 'Flip' Merrick
- Mary ForbesMary ForbesMary Forbes was an English film actress. She appeared in over 130 films between 1919 and 1958....
as Mrs. Ferguson - Marcelle CordayMarcelle CordayMarcelle Corday was a Belgian American film actress. She mostly played character parts in silent and sound films...
as Blanche