... but the meat is weak
Movie | |
---|---|
German title | ... but the meat is weak |
Original title | Sadie Thompson |
Country of production | United States |
original language | English |
Publishing year | 1928 |
length | 91 minutes |
Rod | |
Director | Raoul Walsh |
script |
Raoul Walsh , John Colton , Clemence Randolph |
production |
Raoul Walsh , Gloria Swanson |
camera |
George Barnes , Oliver T. Marsh |
cut | C. Gardner Sullivan |
occupation | |
|
... but the meat is weak (OT: Sadie Thompson ) is an American feature film with Gloria Swanson directed by Raoul Walsh from 1928. The silent film is based on the play of the same name, which takes motifs from Somerset Maugham's story Miss Thompson .
action
Sadie Thompson is stranded in Pago Pago. The young woman passes the time flirting and making love. Their doings arouse the displeasure of the bigoted, self-righteous Reverend Alfred Davidson, who travels the South Seas with his submissive wife to preach the Gospel. Davidson's goal is to morally save Sadie, who in his eyes is a depraved woman and a lost soul. Sadie brusquely rejects the missionary, who seems to have more than just honorable intentions towards her. In the meantime, Sadie gets to know and love the friendly officer O'Hara. Both want to get married. Davidson, who succeeds in driving Sadie into some kind of religious madness, loses his mind and tries to rape Sadie. He then commits suicide. Sadie and O'Hare begin a new chapter in their lives.
background
Gloria Swanson had risen to Paramount Studios' biggest star in the mid-1920s through a series of films, most of which showed her in romantic entanglements . Swanson turned down an offer from the studio to extend their contract, which expired in 1926, for a guaranteed weekly fee of $ 22,500. She decided to set up her own production company based on the model of Norma Talmadge and Mary Pickford and bring the films through United Artists for distribution. The first project, The Loves of Sunja , was only moderately successful, and Swanson decided to win back her fans with a dramatic role.
The film is based on the play Rain , which premiered on Broadway in November 1923 and which starred Jeanne Eagels in a total of 256 performances. Just a year later there was a re-performance with Eagles, which ran for a total of 648 performances. In 1935, Tallulah Bankhead took on the part in another revival, after having performed in this role with great success in London in the 1920s. In 1932 the material was remade under the title Rain with Joan Crawford, but flopped at the box office. In 1953, Rita Hayworth took on the title role in a third film adaptation, which was released in Germany with the title Purgatory .
After Gloria Swanson's death in 1983, a copy of the film was discovered in her estate. He was previously thought to be missing . The last role (about 20 minutes) could no longer be performed. The missing material was replaced by still photos and recordings of the 1932 version.
Awards
At the first Academy Awards in 1929 , the film was nominated in two categories:
- Best Actress (Gloria Swanson)
- Best Cinematography (George Barnes, who was also nominated for his work on The Devil Dancer and The Magic Flame )
Web links
- ... but the flesh is weak in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Original review by the New York Times
- Set photos and short synopsis
- Synopsis and set photos ( Memento from October 12, 2010 in the Internet Archive )