Sadie Thompson (1928)

Director:

Raoul Walsh

Writers:

W. Somerset Maugham (story)
Raoul Walsh (adaptation)

Release Date:

7 January 1928 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Sadie could storm any barrack she attacked! Magnetism had never been heard of until she hit town! What a woman! You'll say so, too!

Plot:

Sadie Thompson arrives in Pago-Pago to start a new life, but when extremist missionary Davidson lashes...

Plot Keywords:

South Seas | Religion | Reformer | Seduction | Suicide

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Lionel Barrymore	...	Alfred Davidson
Blanche Friderici	...	Mrs. Alfred Davidson
Charles Lane	...	Dr. Angus McPhail
Florence Midgley	...	Mrs. Angus McPhail
James A. Marcus	...	Joe Horn, the trader
Sophia Artega	...	Ameena
Will Stanton	...	Quartermaster Bates
Raoul Walsh	...	Sergeant Timothy 'Tim' O'Hara
Gloria Swanson	...	Sadie Thompson

Runtime:

USA:91 min (reconstructed version) | USA:97 min (original version)

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

USA:Unrated | Finland:(Banned) (1928) | Finland:K-16 (1929)

Filming Locations:

Santa Catalina Island, Channel Islands, California, USA

Company:

Gloria Swanson Pictures

Trivia:

The play, written by John Colton and Clemence Randolph, opened on Broadway in New York City, New York on 7 November 1922 and had 256 performance with Jeanne Eagels as Sadie. There were 2 New York revivals, the last in 1935 with Tallulah Bankhead as Sadie.

Quotes:

Sergeant Timothy 'Tim' O'Hara: Where do you hail from Sadie?
Sadie Thompson: San Francisco.
Sergeant Timothy 'Tim' O'Hara: That's funny - - my best pal married a girl from San Francisco.
Sadie Thompson: What part of San Francisco?
Sergeant Timothy 'Tim' O'Hara: Where they hang out the red lanterns.
Sadie Thompson: [thoughtfully] Are they happy?
Sergeant Timothy 'Tim' O'Hara: Sure! 'Sfunny but them that kicks the highest often settles down the hardest.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Why Be Good? Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema (2007)

Stunning Swanson!

What a performance - Swanson bursts out of the screen, as Somerset Maugham's prostitute heroine trapped on a tropical island with a crusading parson and a sexy sergeant. And Lionel Barrymore as the parson and the director Raoul Walsh as the sergeant are her match. This is silent acting at its best.

Yes the piece is a little stagey and the action too confined for a silent picture, but when the photography is as brilliant as it is here - who cares? It deservedly won the first ever Oscar for cinematography.

This is a passionate and beautiful production. What a tragedy that the last few minutes have been lost. They have been reconstructed using titles and stills - but how I would have loved to have seen the scene when Barrymore rapes Swanson. It must have been breathtaking. Don't miss this film.