Secrets (1933)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Secrets |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1933 |
| length | 90 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Frank Borzage |
| script | Frances Marion |
| production | Mary Pickford |
| music | Alfred Newman |
| camera | Ray June |
| cut | Hugh Bennett |
| occupation | |
| |
Secrets is a 1933 American film directed by Frank Borzage . Lead actress Mary Pickford also produced this film. The former silent film star then ended his career. At her side, Leslie Howard played the male lead. The story is based on the play of the same name by Rudolph Besier and May Edginton , published in Harper's Bazaar in December 1918 and premiered in London in September 1922 .
action
In an American east coast city in the 1860s. Here the wealthy banker and shipowner William Marlowe and his wife Martha have focused all their ambition on marrying their daughter Mary to the British aristocrat Lord Hurley. Money should find nobility and enter into a perfect alliance. But Mary has completely different intentions. She has fallen in love with John Carlton, a small employee of her father, and wants to spend her future with him. When father Marlowe found out about the liaison, he immediately threw John out of the company. He then decides to leave New England without Mary and to go to the western United States to seek his fortune there and make a fortune. But Mary does not want to be left without him, and both become engaged. The couple settles in California, builds a farm and creates a herd of cattle.
Soon they will also have children, a son. While John and his assistant Sunshine are on their way to get supplies one day, the villainous outlaw Jake Houser shows up with his gang on the farm and steals all the cattle. Back home, John immediately rounds up the neighboring ranchers to catch up with the gang and bring the stolen herd of cattle back to the farm. Those cattle thieves who they can get hold of, including Jake's brother, unceremoniously tie up John and his helpers. Jake himself can escape. He then swears bloody revenge and raids the Carlton estate with the rest of his gang. But help is coming, and with it John Carlton can wipe out the entire gang. Mary and John's baby, whose health is already bad, does not survive the fight and dies.
Years go by and the Carltons are getting wealthier. Four more children are born, and John is a candidate for California State Governor. Mr. and Mrs. Carlton have a party at their mansion the night before the election. John has found a mistress over the years. And that lady, a certain Lolita Martinez, appears at this festival and thus causes a tangible scandal. She urges Mary to release John. And Mary, lifelong loyal and obedient wife, is also feeling this time. John finally realizes what he's got in Mary. He expels Lolita from the house and asks his loving wife for forgiveness. Lolita takes revenge on John shortly afterwards by making her affair with him public. Despite this scandal, John wins the election and becomes governor of the state. More years passed and John Carlton moved to Washington as a senator. He held this post for 30 years before deciding to quit politics and return to California. His and Mary's now grown-up children are puzzling over why he is doing this. Mary explains that she and John want more time to themselves, both enjoying secrets that they cannot share with anyone else.
Production notes
Filming began on November 28, 1932 and continued through January 1933. Secrets premiered on March 16, 1933. The film did not open in Germany.
This film is a remake of a silent film of the same name from 1924 with Norma Talmadge in the Pickford role, which director Borzage had also made.
The film structures were designed by Richard Day , the costumes by Adrian . Ray Heindorf took over the orchestration of Alfred Newman's film composition.
The film cost a good $ 530,000 and grossed just under $ 700,000 in the US. This film fell well short of expectations and is said to have strengthened Pickford's conviction to withdraw from the film business.
criticism
"Extremely inconsistent, but at least the story is well produced and there is interesting acting."
"You can be sure that you will not go wrong by going to this movie with your family."
Halliwell's Film Guide characterized the film as follows: “Strangely tangled star vehicle, partly romantic comedy, partly western, partly pissing. More interesting than entertaining. "
The following could be read from the critic Leonard Maltin : “The saga ... moves from light-weight romance to soap opera to melodrama. Mary's swan song on screen shows that her talent is still intact, but this episodic story must have looked old-fashioned, not to say redundant, even in 1933. "
Individual evidence
- ↑ Secrets on allemovie.com
- ^ Leslie Halliwell : Halliwell's Film Guide, Seventh Edition, New York 1989, p. 896
- ↑ Review on tcm.turner.com
Web links
- Secrets in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Secrets on turner.com