Monday March 15, 7pm, The Paramount, Seattle
"I guess I'm sorry for everybody in the world - Life is a quaint present from somebody."
A struggle between tolerance and zealotry takes place in a south-seas backwater when a religious fanatic, bent on her conversion confronts a woman attempting to hide her identity. Sadie Thompson (Gloria Swanson) languishes in a seedy hotel with the local detachment of bored marines as her only entertainment. The tropical rains fall and Sadie's fellow steamship passengers pass the time, while Alfred Davidson (Lionel Barrymore) determines to alter the social climate.
At the twilight of Hollywood's silent era and the zenith of Swanson's stardom, she chose Somerset Maugham's immensely popular short-story as her ultimate vehicle. Directed by and co-starring Raoul Walsh, filmed by legendary cinematographer George Barnes, with art direction by the great William Cameron Menzies, Sadie Thompson is an overlooked masterpiece. Barrymore's malevolent sneering was never better. Aside from being lost in the wake of Hollywood's greatest year, the greatest tragedy of this film is the missing final reel.
"I guess I'm sorry for everybody in the world - Life is a quaint present from somebody."
A struggle between tolerance and zealotry takes place in a south-seas backwater when a religious fanatic, bent on her conversion confronts a woman attempting to hide her identity. Sadie Thompson (Gloria Swanson) languishes in a seedy hotel with the local detachment of bored marines as her only entertainment. The tropical rains fall and Sadie's fellow steamship passengers pass the time, while Alfred Davidson (Lionel Barrymore) determines to alter the social climate.
At the twilight of Hollywood's silent era and the zenith of Swanson's stardom, she chose Somerset Maugham's immensely popular short-story as her ultimate vehicle. Directed by and co-starring Raoul Walsh, filmed by legendary cinematographer George Barnes, with art direction by the great William Cameron Menzies, Sadie Thompson is an overlooked masterpiece. Barrymore's malevolent sneering was never better. Aside from being lost in the wake of Hollywood's greatest year, the greatest tragedy of this film is the missing final reel.