Noah's Ark (1928)

Director:

Michael Curtiz
(more)

Writers:

Darryl F. Zanuck (story)
Anthony Coldeway (adaptation)
(more)

Release Date:

21 November 1929 (Denmark)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

See and Hear the spectacle of the ages!

Plot:

The Biblical story of Noah and the Great Flood, with a parallel story of soldiers in the First World War.

Plot Keywords:

German | Flood | Firing Squad | Spy | Orient Express

Cast

Dolores Costello	...	Mary / Miriam
George O'Brien	...	Travis / Japheth
Noah Beery	...	Nickoloff / King Nephiliu
Louise Fazenda	...	Hilda / Tavern Maid
Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams	...	Al / Ham (as Gwynn Williams)
Paul McAllister	...	Minister / Noah
Myrna Loy	...	Dancer / Slave Girl
Anders Randolf	...	The German / Leader of Soldiers
Armand Kaliz	...	The Frenchman / Leader of the King's Guard
William V. Mong	...	Innkeeper / Guard
Malcolm Waite	...	The Blakan / Shem
Nigel De Brulier	...	Soldier / High Priest
Noble Johnson	...	Slave Broker
Otto Hoffman	...	Investor with Gun / Trader
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Joe Bonomo	...	Aide to Leader of Soldiers (uncredited)
Allan Cavan	...	Stockbroker (uncredited)
Andy Devine	...	Flood Extra (uncredited)
Gus Leonard	...	Manager of Belgian theater troup (uncredited)
Alphonse Martell	...	French Policeman (uncredited)
Torben Meyer	...	Man on Train (uncredited)
Nina Quartero	...	French Girl (uncredited)
Cliff Saum	...	Soldier in Trench (uncredited)
John Wayne	...	Flood Extra (uncredited)

Directed by
Michael Curtiz
Darryl F. Zanuck		(uncredited)

Writing credits
Darryl F. Zanuck		(story) (as Darryl Francis Zanuck)
Anthony Coldeway		(adaptation) (as Anthony Coldewey)
De Leon Anthony		(titles)

Produced by
Darryl F. Zanuck	....	associate producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
David Buttolph		(1957 reissue) (uncredited)
Howard Jackson		(1957 reissue) (uncredited)
William Lava		(1957 reissue) (uncredited)
Alois Reiser		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Barney McGill		(photographed by)
Hal Mohr		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
Harold McCord

Art Direction by
Anton Grot		(uncredited)

Music Department
Louis Silvers	....	conductor: Vitaphone Symphony Orchestra
Adolph Deutsch	....	composer: stock music (1957 reissue) (uncredited)
Bernhard Kaun	....	composer: stock music (1957 reissue) (uncredited)
Erich Wolfgang Korngold	....	composer: stock music (1957 reissue) (uncredited)
Max Steiner	....	composer: stock music (1957 reissue) (uncredited)
Franz Waxman	....	composer: stock music (1957 reissue) (uncredited)

Other crew
Henry Blanke	....	technician
John Daumery	....	technician
Lewis Geib	....	technician
Paul Grimm	....	technician
Esdras Hartley	....	technician
Fred Jackman	....	technical director
Ned Mann	....	technician
Harold Miles	....	technician
Frank Murphy	....	technician
Victor Vance	....	technician
Robert Youngson	....	presenter (1950 re-release)

Thanks
Leith Adams	....	special thanks (1990 restoration)
Chris Chigaridas	....	special thanks (1990 restoration)
Martin Fox	....	special thanks (1990 restoration)
Richard P. May	....	special thanks (1990 restoration)
Fred Talmage	....	special thanks (1990 restoration)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures (as The Vitaphone Corporation)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1928) (USA) (theatrical)
• National Film-Verleih und Vertrieb (1929) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Hugo Engel-Filmgesellschaft (1930) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Dominant Pictures Corporation (1957) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release) (edited)
• Warner Home Video (2011) (USA) (DVD) (DVD-R)

Other Companies

• Film Center of the National Museum of Modern Art  project coordination (1990s restoration) (as The Museum of Modern Art Department of Film)
• Cinémathèque Française  made in cooperation with (1990s restoration) (as La Cinémathèque Française)
• Library of Congress  made in cooperation with (1990s restoration)
• American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T)  funding (1990s restoration) (as AT&T)
• Turner Entertainment  funding (1990s restoration) (as Turner Entertainment Co.)
• YCM Labs  laboratory services (1990s restoration)
• Burbank Studios, The  special thanks (1990s restoration) (as The Burbank Studios Sound Dept.)
• USC School of Cinema and Television  special thanks (1990s restoration)
• Warner Bros. Archives  special thanks (1990s restoration)
• Warner Bros. Pictures  special thanks (1990s restoration)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

135 min | USA:75 min (re-release) (1957) | USA:100 min (1990s restoration)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Vitaphone) (talking sequences) | Mono (Western Electric Apparatus) (musical score and sound effects)

Certification:

USA:Not Rated | USA:TV-G (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Big Basin, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

When cameraman Hal Mohr was shown how the climactic flood scene was to be shot, he objected on the grounds that it would place many of the extras in jeopardy. Mohr told the executives that while the trained stuntmen knew what to expect and could prepare for it, the ordinary extras would have no idea what was coming, and many would be hurt. When his objections were overruled, he quit the picture, and was replaced by Barney McGill. During filming of the scene, the huge torrents of water overwhelmed the actors; three were drowned, one was so severely injured his leg had to be amputated and almost a dozen had broken limbs and other serious injuries.

Quotes:

Al:This war is more than just a fight. It's more like a funeral. And everybody ought to be in the procession or the hearse.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Hollywood: Pioneers (#1.1)" (1980)

Soundtrack:

Semper Fidelis

Waiting for the rainbow...

The conclusion of the movie leaves a bitter taste in the mouth .In his remake of his classic silent "J'accuse" (1937) ,Abel Gance too proclaimed universal peace.It was not to be the last of all the wars and men are still fighting at my time of writing.And there's another flood "in which we are engulfed which is more treacherous and persistent:the deluge of the mass production (and consummation)moves inexorably forward ,capturing everything that walks in whirlpools" of frozen food,rusted cars,DVDs and CDs,cans ,boxes ,hamburgers ,tons and tons of Bumf (papers) ,growing in an exponential way...

Curtiz's movie was obviously intended to match the scale and quality (and commercial appeal)of De Mille'' "the ten commandments " .The structure is the same:a fine mixture of two stories ,a modern one (WW1,the deluge of blood)and a "biblical story" ,reversing De Mille's order .The connection between the two stories is perhaps tighter than in the 1924 work although in the first part of the movie the viewer may sometimes wonder what Curtiz is driving at.

The biblical story has been " expanded " ,which was necessary for Noah's story is rather short and not particularly eventful if spectacular. Curtiz borrowed a lot from De Mille in the scenes of the deluge and when God "writes" to Noah (using thunderbolt).But his deluge is superior to John Huston's "the animals went in two by two" sequence in "The Bible" (1967)

All in all,this is a very exciting show ,which features talking scenes ,including a whole version of "La Madelon" the Poilus' songs during WW1.The parade on the Champs D'Elysées with a painted Arc De Triomphe in the background and women throwing flowers when Travis sees Al marching on to war is a great moment.Melodrama reaches peaks of kitsch when the same is to execute ...his own wife ,condemned in mistake for spying.

When will we see Noah's dove?