The Passionate Adventure | |
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Directed by | Graham Cutts |
Written by | Alfred Hitchcock Michael Morton |
Based on | The Passionate Adventure by Frank Stayton |
Produced by | Michael Balcon |
Starring | Clive Brook Alice Joyce Marjorie Daw Victor McLaglen |
Cinematography | Claude L. McDonnell |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Gaumont British Distributors |
Release date |
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Running time | 8 reels |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
The Passionate Adventure is a 1924 British silent drama film directed by Graham Cutts and starring Clive Brook and Alice Joyce. The film was adapted from a novel by Frank Stayton by Alfred Hitchcock and Michael Morton, with Hitchcock also credited as assistant director to Cutts. [1] [2]
The Passionate Adventure is also notable as the first film released under the aegis of Michael Balcon's newly formed Gainsborough Pictures.
The marriage between Adrian and Drusilla St. Clair (Brook and Joyce) has become unsatisfactory and loveless since Adrian's return from World War I, with the couple treating each other with cold distance. Seeking escape from his unfulfilled home life, Adrian takes off to the East End of London where he disguises himself as a shabby itinerant. There he meets a pretty young waif Vicky (Marjorie Daw) and takes on the role of her unofficial protector.
This does not go down well with Vicky's East End criminal element boyfriend Herb (Victor McLaglen) who becomes increasingly suspicious and jealous about her association with Adrian, until a showdown in inevitable. Adrian uses his wits to overcome Herb's brute force, and hands him over to the police who have wanted him for some time. With Herb in custody and Vicky's safety assured, Adrian returns west to Drusilla invigorated by his East End experience and with his feelings of passion towards her evidently restored. They embrace at the bottom of the staircase, which the appreciative Drusilla starts to climb.
Walter Mycroft, reviewing the film for the Evening Standard , wrote that ‘For absolute skill in production and for inspiration in setting,' The Passionate Adventure 'reaches a high level, far higher than was actually entailed by the particular story Graham Cutts and his coadjutors here had to handle.'
Victor Andrew de Bier Everleigh McLaglen was a British-American actor and boxer. His film career spanned from the early 1920s through the 1950s, initially as a leading man, though he was better known for his character acting. He was a well-known member of John Ford’s Stock Company, appearing in 12 of the director’s films, seven of which co-starred John Wayne.
The following is an overview of 1927 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
This is an overview of 1925 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
This is an overview of 1924 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
Sir Michael Elias Balcon was an English film producer known for his leadership of Ealing Studios in west London from 1938 to 1956. Under his direction, the studio became one of the most important British film studios of the day. In an industry short of Hollywood-style moguls, Balcon emerged as a key figure, and an obdurately British one too, in his benevolent, somewhat headmasterly approach to the running of a creative organization. He is known for his leadership, and his guidance of young Alfred Hitchcock.
The Pleasure Garden is a 1926 British–German silent drama film directed by Alfred Hitchcock in his feature film directorial debut. Based on the 1923 novel of the same name by Oliver Sandys, the film is about two chorus girls at the Pleasure Garden Theatre in London and their troubled relationships.
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Clifford Hardman "Clive" Brook was an English film actor.
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Henry Victor was an English-born character actor who had his highest profile in the film silent era, he appeared in numerous film roles in his native Britain, before emigrating to the United States in 1939 where he continued his career, working in Hollywood films
Dick Turpin is a 1933 British historical drama film directed by Victor Hanbury and John Stafford. It starred Victor McLaglen, Jane Carr, Frank Vosper, James Finlayson and Cecil Humphreys. The film depicts the adventures of the eighteenth century highwayman Dick Turpin and his legendary ride to York. It was based on a historical novel by Harrison Ainsworth.
John Henry Graham Cutts, known as Graham Cutts, was a British film director, one of the leading British directors in the 1920s. His fellow director A. V. Bramble believed that Gainsborough Pictures had been built on the back of his work.
The Glorious Adventure is a 1922 British Prizmacolor silent feature film directed by J. Stuart Blackton and written by Felix Orman. The film's sets were designed by Walter Murton. It was shot at the Cricklewood Studios of Stoll Pictures in London.
Woman to Woman is a 1923 British silent drama film directed by Graham Cutts, with Alfred Hitchcock as the uncredited assistant director and co-screenwriter. The film was the first of three adaptions of the 1921 play Woman to Woman by Michael Morton. To capitalise on the success of the film, Cutts and Hitchcock made another film, The White Shadow, with Compson before she returned to the United States.
The White Shadow, also known as White Shadows in the United States, is a 1923 British drama film directed by Graham Cutts and starring Betty Compson, Clive Brook, and Henry Victor.
The Prude's Fall is a 1925 British silent drama film directed by Graham Cutts and starring Jane Novak, Julanne Johnston, and Warwick Ward.
Through Fire and Water is a 1923 British silent adventure film directed by Thomas Bentley and starring Clive Brook, Flora le Breton and Lawford Davidson. It was based on the 1922 novel Greensea Island by Victor Bridges.
Women of All Nations is a 1931 American pre-Code military comedy film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Victor McLaglen, Edmund Lowe, Greta Nissen and El Brendel. It was the second of three sequels to Walsh's 1926 film, What Price Glory?, with McLaglen and Lowe reprising their roles.
The Laughing Lady is a 1929 sound film melodrama directed by Victor Schertzinger, starring Ruth Chatterton and produced and released by Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation. It is based on a 1922 British play, The Laughing Lady, by Alfred Sutro. The play was brought to New York in 1923 and put on Broadway starring Ethel Barrymore.
The Home Maker is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by King Baggot and starring Alice Joyce, Clive Brook, and Billy Kent Schaefer. A husband and wife are more successful once they have swapped roles.