Queen Kelly is the title of an American
silent filmA silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially spoken dialogue. The idea of combining motion pictures with recorded sound is nearly as old as film itself, but because of the technical challenges involved, synchronized dialogue was only made practical in the late 1920s with...
produced in 1928-29 and released in
1929-Events:The days of the silent film were numbered. A mad scramble to provide synchronized sound was on.*January 20 - The movie In Old Arizona was released. The film was the first full-length talking film to be filmed outdoors....
, originally by
United ArtistsUnited Artists Entertainment LLC is an American film studio. The current United Artists was formed in November 2006 under a partnership between producer/actor Tom Cruise and his production partner, Paula Wagner, and Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer Studios Inc., an MGM company...
. The film was
directedA film director, or filmmaker is a person who directs the making or production of a film. Some also consider a film producer to be a filmmaker....
by
Erich von StroheimErich von Stroheim was an Austrian-born star of the silent film age, lauded for his directorial work in which he was a proto-auteur. As an actor, he is noted for his arrogant Teutonic character parts which led him to be described as "not a character actor, but what a character!"...
, starred
Gloria SwansonGloria Swanson was an American actress. She was most prominent during the silent film era as both an actress and a fashion icon, especially under the direction of Cecil B. DeMille. She was also one of the first stars to challenge the Hays Code by producing the banned Sadie Thompson in 1928...
in the title role, and also starred Walter Byron and
Seena OwenSeena Owen was an American silent film actress. She was born in Spokane, Washington.Her first important film was A Yankee From the West under the name Signe Auen at the age of 21. In 1916 she performed in D. W. Griffith's Intolerance. The same year she married George Walsh whom she had met on the...
.
The film was never completed as intended, although ultimately there was an alternate version that played in European theatres that wrapped up its storyline with clever editing. In that ending, the title character commits suicide.
Queen Kelly is the title of an American
silent filmA silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially spoken dialogue. The idea of combining motion pictures with recorded sound is nearly as old as film itself, but because of the technical challenges involved, synchronized dialogue was only made practical in the late 1920s with...
produced in 1928-29 and released in
1929-Events:The days of the silent film were numbered. A mad scramble to provide synchronized sound was on.*January 20 - The movie In Old Arizona was released. The film was the first full-length talking film to be filmed outdoors....
, originally by
United ArtistsUnited Artists Entertainment LLC is an American film studio. The current United Artists was formed in November 2006 under a partnership between producer/actor Tom Cruise and his production partner, Paula Wagner, and Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer Studios Inc., an MGM company...
. The film was
directedA film director, or filmmaker is a person who directs the making or production of a film. Some also consider a film producer to be a filmmaker....
by
Erich von StroheimErich von Stroheim was an Austrian-born star of the silent film age, lauded for his directorial work in which he was a proto-auteur. As an actor, he is noted for his arrogant Teutonic character parts which led him to be described as "not a character actor, but what a character!"...
, starred
Gloria SwansonGloria Swanson was an American actress. She was most prominent during the silent film era as both an actress and a fashion icon, especially under the direction of Cecil B. DeMille. She was also one of the first stars to challenge the Hays Code by producing the banned Sadie Thompson in 1928...
in the title role, and also starred Walter Byron and
Seena OwenSeena Owen was an American silent film actress. She was born in Spokane, Washington.Her first important film was A Yankee From the West under the name Signe Auen at the age of 21. In 1916 she performed in D. W. Griffith's Intolerance. The same year she married George Walsh whom she had met on the...
.
The film was never completed as intended, although ultimately there was an alternate version that played in European theatres that wrapped up its storyline with clever editing. In that ending, the title character commits suicide. In the most well-known version of the film, the title character is sent to live in an African brothel.
On November 24, 1931, a final scene where the prince discovers that Kelly has drowned herself was filmed by cinematographer
Gregg TolandGregg Toland, A.S.C. was a highly influential American cinematographer noted for his innovative use of lighting and techniques such as deep focus, an example of which can be found in his work on Orson Welles' Citizen Kane.During the 1930s, Toland became the youngest cameraman in Hollywood but soon...
under Swanson's direction. This version, with music by Adolf Tandler was released only in Europe and South America due to a clause in von Stroheim's contract.
A short extract of the film appears in
Sunset Boulevard (1950), representing an old silent picture Swanson's character
Norma DesmondNorma Desmond is a main character in Billy Wilder's film Sunset Boulevard.-Plot:An aging former star of silent movies, Desmond has withdrawn to her Gothic Beverly Hills mansion, off Sunset Boulevard, nursing dreams of a return to stardom while her grip on reality grows ever more tenuous over the...
- herself a silent movie star - had made. Von Stroheim is also a primary character in
Sunset Boulevard, as her ex-director, ex-husband, and current butler.
By 1985, Kino International had acquired the rights to the movie and restored two versions, one that uses still photos and subtitles in an attempt to wrap up the storyline, and the other the European "suicide ending" version. Kino remains the rights holder and is responsible for all distribution, including television and home video.
Cast
- Gloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson was an American actress. She was most prominent during the silent film era as both an actress and a fashion icon, especially under the direction of Cecil B. DeMille. She was also one of the first stars to challenge the Hays Code by producing the banned Sadie Thompson in 1928...
- Kitty Kelly, aka Queen Kelly
- Walter Byron - Prince Wolfram
- Seena Owen
Seena Owen was an American silent film actress. She was born in Spokane, Washington.Her first important film was A Yankee From the West under the name Signe Auen at the age of 21. In 1916 she performed in D. W. Griffith's Intolerance. The same year she married George Walsh whom she had met on the...
- Queen Regina V
- Sylvia Ashton
Sylvia Ashton was an American film actress of the silent era. She appeared in 134 films between 1912 and 1929...
- Kelly's Aunt
- Wilson Benge
Wilson Benge was an English actor who mostly featured in American films from the silent days.Along with actors Charles Coleman and Robert Greig,...
- Prince Wolfram's Valet
- Sidney Bracey
Sidney Bracey , was an American film actor. After a Broadway stage career, he appeared in 321 films between 1909 and 1942....
- Prince Wolfram's Lackey
- Rae Daggett - Coughdrops
- Florence Gibson - Kelly's Aunt
- Madge Hunt - Mother Superior
- Tully Marshall
William Phillips was an American character actor known as Tully Marshall, with nearly a quarter century of theatrical experience behind before he made his first film appearance in 1914.-Career:...
- Jan Vryheid
- Ann Morgan - Maid Escorting Kelly to Altar
- Madame Sul-Te-Wan
Madame Sul-Te-Wan was the stage name of an American stage and film actress whose career spanned over five decades. Sul-Te-Wan was the first African American actor, male or female, to sign a film contract and be a featured performer.-Early life:Born Nellie Crawford in Louisville, Kentucky, USA, her...
- Kali Sana, Aunt's Cook
- Lucille Van Lent - Prince Wolfram's Maid
- Wilhelm von Brincken - Prince Wolfram's adjutant
- Gordon Westcott
Gordon Westcott , was an American actor born in St. George, Utah.He was a contract player with Warner Brothers and appeared in 37 films between 1928 and 1935, starring alongside well-known American actors such as Bette Davis, Loretta Young and James Cagney...
- Lackey
See also
- Sunset Boulevard (1950)
- Sadie Thompson
Sadie Thompson is a silent film which 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 Barrymore, and...
(1928)
- The Love of Sunya
The Love of Sunya is a silent film directed by Albert Parker, and based on the play The Eyes of Youth by Max Marcin and Charles Guernon. Produced by and starring Gloria Swanson, it also stars John Boles and Pauline Garon...
(1927)
External links