The Story of Temple Drake

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Movie
Original title The Story of Temple Drake
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1933
length 70 minutes
Rod
Director Stephen Roberts
script Oliver HP Garrett ,
Maurine Dallas Watkins
production Benjamin Glazer for Paramount Pictures
music Karl Hajos , Bernhard Kaun
camera Karl Struss
occupation

The Story of Temple Drake is an American drama directed by Stephen Roberts from 1933. It is a film adaptation of William Faulkner's controversial novel Die Freistatt . Although the script weakened some aspects compared to the novel, The Story of Temple Drake nevertheless developed into a film scandal and was an occasion for the implementation of the Hays Code from 1934.

action

The young Temple Drake comes from a respected southern family and falls into the hands of the criminal Trigger.

background

Initially, George Raft and not Jack La Rue should play the role of Trigger, but Raft feared that the dark character could have a negative impact on his career. Oscar Apfel as a prosecutor, John Carradine as a spectator in the courtroom, Grady Sutton as Bob, and Harold Goodwin and Kent Taylor as rejected and drunk suitors were not mentioned in the credits for their small roles . The costumes were designed by Travis Banton , who became famous above all for his collaboration with Marlene Dietrich .

Faulkner's novel Die Freistatt had become a sales success after its publication in 1931, in which Paramount quickly secured the film rights. The Story of Temple Drake was created in the Pre-Code , a relatively liberal and open phase in Hollywood with regard to sexuality and crime. Nonetheless, The Story of Temple Drake is somewhat defused compared to Faulkner's novel, the rape is only hinted at and a brothel is not explicitly shown. The end of this film is also not quite as dark as in the book, where Temple makes a false testimony, which leads to the lynching of an innocent man.

But even in a slightly toned down form, The Story of Temple Drake developed into a film scandal. The questions raised by the film, such as whether Temple enjoyed the criminal's rape and kidnapping, were viewed by church associations and censors as immoral. For example , in New York State , all scenes that contained sex or violence had to be cut to a minimum. It was banned entirely in Pennsylvania and Ohio . The controversy surrounding Temple Drake was the reason that basic censorship guidelines were enforced in Hollywood the following year with the Hays Code . Such a direct representation of subjects as in Temple Drake was virtually impossible for commercial filmmakers until the 1960s.

Joseph Breen , in compliance with the Hays Code, subsequently stipulated that The Story of Temple Drake could no longer be re-released in theaters. In the decades that followed, the film was not accessible at all and was then difficult to access, at times only an illegal 16 mm version was in circulation. This has since changed, in 2010 The Story of Temple Drake was restored by the Museum of Modern Art with the help of Turner Classic Movies .

Reviews

The US film critic Dennis Schwartz saw the film in a recent review as "dirty and aged melodrama". Besides the controversial material, there isn't much of interest in The Story of Temple Drake . The critic Michael W. Phillips, however, found the film through the portrayal of Miriam Hopkins worth seeing and even captivating.

Remake

In 1961 director Tony Richardson made a remake under the book title Sanctuary , which appeared in German cinemas under the title Confession of a Sinner . Lee Remick starred , her film partners were Yves Montand and Bradford Dillman . The film received bad reviews, however, and is even more unknown today than The Story of Temple Drake .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Dennis Schwartz: The Story of Temple Drake. In: Movie Reviews. Retrieved January 22, 2019 .
  2. ↑ a b The Story of Temple Drake (1933) - Directed by Stephen R. Roberts | Synopsis, Characteristics and Related Movies. In: AllMovie. Retrieved January 22, 2019 .
  3. ^ A b The Story of Temple Drake (1933) Review, with Miriam Hopkins. May 8, 2014, accessed January 22, 2019 .
  4. ^ A b The Story of Temple Drake (1933) - Trivia. Retrieved January 22, 2019 .
  5. ^ Katie Trainor: Out of the Vaults and onto the Screen. In: Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). October 14, 2010, accessed January 22, 2019 .
  6. ^ The Story of Temple Drake. In: Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 22, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Confessions of a Sündnerin (1961) - Sanctuary (original title). April 18, 1961, accessed January 22, 2019 .