The Scarlet Letter (1934 film)

The Scarlet Letter is a 1934 American film directed by Robert G. Vignola and based on the 1850 novel of the same name by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

The Scarlet Letter
Lobby card
Directed byRobert G. Vignola
Produced byLarry Darmour
Written byLeonard Fields
David Silverstein
Based onThe Scarlet Letter
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
StarringColleen Moore
Hardie Albright
Henry B. Walthall
Alan Hale
Music byAbe Meyer
CinematographyJames S. Brown Jr.
Edited byCharles Harris
Production
company
Darmour Productions
Distributed byMajestic Pictures
Release date
  • September 18, 1934 (1934-09-18)
Running time
69 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The film has been preserved by the UCLA Film & Television Archive.

Plot summary

Hester Prynne has a child out of wedlock and refuses to name the father (who is a respected citizen). For this, she is sentenced to wear a red letter "A" (for adultery). Her husband is long missing and presumed dead. When the husband returns and finds his wife with another man's child, he sets out to torture them. At last, the father reveals himself, with a letter "A" carved in his chest.

Cast

Production

The first sound version of the story starring former Jazz Age comedian Colleen Moore as the ill-fated Puritan adulteress Hester Prynne, the film retained many of the silent film era players and studio sets from director Victor Seastrom’s 1926 silent adaptation starring Lillian Gish. Henry B. Walthall played Roger Chillingworth in both these film versions.[1]

Under the influence of the recently re-imposed Production Code, director Vignola emphasized the guilt-ridden ordeal of the novel’s protagonists, which resonated with Hollywood censor’s preference for a depiction of “the moral failure of the central figures” as a cautionary tale, distinguish it from the Seastrom’s decidedly romantic film adaption.[2]

It was shot in Sherman Oaks, California. It was the only film Colleen Moore ever said she made for the money. She was reportedly preparing to take her dollhouse on tour for charity, and saw the film as an opportunity to make a last film with friends.

Reception

National Board of Review gave a negative review, criticizing the script and "Vignola's static, uninspired direction", but appreciated Moore's performance, considered "the only good thing in the picture".[3]

Footnotes
  1. Malcolm, 2004: “...a superabundance of silent film personalities” were employed in the sound remake... [and] many sets in this lower-budget production seem to be borrowed from the Seastrom film...”
  2. Malcolm, 2004: “...this adaption, perhaps in response to the recently re-constituted Production Code, underscores the moral failure of the central sinners…[and] serves to highlight the realism of the film’s dialogue.”
  3. National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, Films in Review - Volume 14, 1963, p.421

References
  • Jeff Codori (2012), Colleen Moore; A Biography of the Silent Film Star, McFarland Publishing,(Print ISBN 978-0-7864-4969-9, EBook ISBN 978-0-7864-8899-5).
  • Colleen Moore research/history project page
  • Malcolm, Paul. 2004. The Scarlet Letter, 1926. UCLA Film and Television Archive: 12th Festival of Preservation, July 22-August 21, 2004. Guest festival guide.
  • Malcolm, Paul. 2004. The Scarlet Letter, 1934. UCLA Film and Television Archive: 12th Festival of Preservation, July 22-August 21, 2004. Guest festival guide.


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