Twelve Miles Out

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Movie
Original title Twelve Miles Out
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1927
length 85 minutes
Rod
Director Jack Conway
script Sada Cowan
production Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
music William ax
camera Ira H. Morgan
cut Harry Reynolds
occupation

Twelve Miles Out is a 1927 American silent film that takes over elements of the early gangster film . The leading roles are played by John Gilbert and Joan Crawford .

action

Jerry Fay is a restless drifter with no ideals or goals in life. He becomes an alcohol smuggler who brings illegally distilled alcohol across the title-giving 12 nautical mile zone. He regularly argues with the boats of the customs authorities. His worst rival in the smuggling business is Red McCue. One day, Jerry takes refuge from the authorities in a house on the beach where he meets Jane. Jane is horrified and wants to call the police, whereupon Jerry takes her to his ship. At first Jane hates Jerry, but then love develops between the two of them. Just as the two want to confess their feelings to each other, Red hijacks the boat. A dramatic altercation ensues, at the end of which Jerry dies from a bullet in Jane's arms.

background

Joan Crawford had been with MGM since 1925 and quickly rose to become a popular actress. However, she had not yet found a fixed type of role for herself and so she alternated between main and supporting roles in a wide variety of genres. So far, Crawford has not been an independent star, but has taken on the leading female role alongside established male stars of the studio such as Lon Chaney , William Haines or John Gilbert . The surprisingly positive response from the audience to Twelve Miles Out prompted the studio to turn Gilbert and Joan Crawford into a screen couple, especially since an end to both the personal and professional relationship of Gilbert and Greta Garbo was foreseeable after A Shameless Woman and the studio quickly united Wanted to build a replacement. Crawford and Gilbert also harmonize well in Four Walls , which was rented in 1928, but the overwhelming success of Our Dancing Daughters a few weeks later brought Joan Crawford to become an independent star. For John Gilbert, portraying a criminal meant a departure from his previous image as a romantic lover in opulently produced melodramas and literary film adaptations.

With his portrayal of alcohol smuggling and prohibition, Twelve Miles Out already borrows from Josef von Sternberg's style-forming success Unterwelt , which practically co-founded the genre of gangster films and found a number of successors. Overall, however, John Gilbert's fame, who was still one of the most popular movie stars in the middle of the decade, was rapidly fading. There were also quarrels with Louis B. Mayer , who tried to permanently prevent Gilbert from receiving demanding roles. All of this contributed to the fact that with the rise of the talkie, Gilbert's pull at the box office rapidly waned. Betty Compson , who was a major star at the beginning of the decade, initially had a small supporting role, which was taken out with the final cut.

Even decades later, Joan Crawford was thrilled with herself, Gilbert and their portrayal:

“[T] he first time this magical attraction between man and woman was felt in one of my films: John Gilbert and I seemed to be pouring out sex. (He was having an affair with Garbo at the time, so nothing happened privately, but on screen - wow!). "

Theatrical release

With a manufacturing cost of $ 462,000 and a shooting time of 39 days, it was an above-average production by MGM standards. The film played in the US with a sum of 655,000 dollars, a high, if not a top value, which was taken as an indication of the gradually waning traction of John Gilbert at the box office. With overseas revenues of $ 238,000 and a cumulative total of $ 893,000, the studio ended up with a comparatively low profit of $ 125,000.

Reviews

The contemporary critics were mixed. In addition to praise for the actors and the exciting script, there was also criticism of the illogical developments on the screen.

Robert E. Sherwood wrote in Life magazine :

"It's an entertaining, exciting film, well played by Mr. Gilbert, Ernest Torrence and Joan Crawford and skillfully directed by Jack Conway."

It sounded less positive in the Los Angeles Times , in which reviewer Edwin Schallert stated:

“[It] is a film with fundamental weaknesses that lie in the plot and the implementation, as well as in some very illogical developments. It still remains an interesting film. [...] The tragic end is more of a shock than a surprise. "

literature

  • Roy Newquist (Ed.): Conversations with Joan Crawford . Citadel Press, Secaucus, NJ 1980, ISBN 0-8065-0720-9 .
  • Lawrence J. Quirk : The Complete Films of Joan Crawford . Citadel Press, Secaucus, NJ 1988, ISBN 0-8065-1078-1 .
  • Lawrence J. Quirk, William Schoell: Joan Crawford. The Essential Biography . University Press, Lexington, KY. 2002, ISBN 0-8131-2254-6 .
  • Alexander Walker: Joan Crawford. The Ultimate Star . Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London 1983, ISBN 0-297-78216-9 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ [T] the first time that magic man-woman chemistry happened in one of my films: John Gilbert and I seemed to exude sex. (He was having an affair with Garbo at the time, so nothing came of it personally, but on -screen - wow!
  2. ↑ It is an amusing, exciting picture, well played by Mr. Gilbert, Ernest Torrence and Joan Crawford, and competently directed by Jack Conway.
  3. ↑ [It] is a picture that has certain fundamental weaknesses because of its plot and the setting of the story, and because several very improbable incidents are introduced. It is, however, an interesting picture. [...] The tragic finish is more of a shock than a surprise.