Noah's Ark (1928 film)

Noah’s Ark
Film poster
Directed by	Michael Curtiz
Starring	George O'Brien Dolores Costello
Music by	Louis Silvers Alois Reiser
Cinematography	Barney McGill Hal Mohr
Editing by	Harold McCord
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	November 1,1928(USA;silent only) June 15, 1929(USA;sound version) November 1929(Denmark)
Running time	135 minutes
Country	USA
Language	English

Noah’s Ark is a 1928 American early romantic melodrama disaster film directed by Michael Curtiz and written by Darryl F. Zanuck. The film starred George O'Brien and Dolores Costello. Released by Warner Bros. studio, the film was important in that it was representative of the transition from silent movies to “talkies”, although it was essentially a kind of film known as a part-talkie, utilizing new (at that time) Vitaphone sound-on-disc technology.^[1]

During the filming of the climactic flood scene, the great volume of water used was so overwhelming that three extras drowned, one was so badly injured that his leg needed to be amputated, and a number suffered broken limbs and other serious injuries and led to implementation of stunt safety regulations the following year.^[2] Dolores Costello caught a severe case of pneumonia. John Wayne and Andy Devine appeared among the hundreds of extras in the flood scene. Wayne also worked in the prop department for the film.

Synopsis

On the eve of “The Great War” (WWI), American Travis (George O'Brien) and German Marie (Dolores Costello) meet on the Orient Express, which wrecks when a bridge washes out. Travis, and his friend Al, rescue Marie, and Travis falls in love with her. When the war breaks out, Al enlists and Travis follows him shortly, after the two lovers have married. When a Russian military officer (Noah Beery) accuses Marie of being a German spy, she is sentenced to face a firing squad, but Travis, who is part of the squad, rescues her in the nick of time. When the French town they are hiding in is bombed by the Germans, the couple and others are trapped below a demolished building. Here, a minister makes a lengthy comparison of the war to the ancient Biblical account of the time of Noah and the Flood.

Cast

• Dolores Costello as Marie/Miriam
• George O'Brien as Travis/Japheth
• Noah Beery as Nickoloff/King Nephiliu
• Louise Fazenda as Hilda/Tavern Maid
• Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams as Al/Ham (billed as Gwynn Williams)
• Paul McAllister as Minister/Noah
• Myrna Loy as Dancer/Slave Girl
• Anders Randolf as The German/Leader of Soldiers
• Armand Kaliz as The Frenchman/Leader of the King's Guard
• William V. Mong as Innkeeper/Guard
• Malcolm Waite as The Blakan/Shem
• Nigel De Brulier as Soldier/High Priest
• Noble Johnson as Broker
• Otto Hoffman as Trader

Uncredited cast

• Joe Bonomo as Aide to Leader of Soldiers
• Andy Devine as Flood Extra
• Alphonse Martell as French Policeman
• Torben Meyer as Man on Train
• Nina Quartero as French Girl
• Cliff Saum as Soldier in Trench
• John Wayne as Flood Extra

Release & re-release

Czech movie poster to the film released in Prague in 1930 as sound version

The film premiered in Hollywood in late 1928, with a running time of 135 minutes. Originally, it had been planned as a silent film in 1927, but a number of talking sequences had been added by the time of the premiere. (These had been directed not by Michael Curtiz but by Roy Del Ruth). After the premiere, Warner Bros. withdrew the film for extensive revision, which included removing about a half hour of footage, including all the talking scenes featuring Paul McAllister, who played both a minister and Noah. The film then opened around the country in reserved-seat engagements, after which it concluded its successful run at popular prices, even though by that time "part-talking" films like this one were considered nearly obsolete. Although it had cost far more than any Warner film to date—over $1 million—it ultimately grossed more than twice its cost.

The film was re-released in 1957 as a 75-minute long silent film, with narration added.

Preservation

The original 135-minute release is believed to be no longer in existence. This film has been partially restored to the length of 100 minutes by the UCLA Film and Television Archive in conjunction with the project American Moviemakers: The Dawn of Sound. It was released in laserdisc format on October, 1993.

See also

• John Wayne filmography (1926-1940)
• Accidents while performing a stunt

References

1. ^ Noah's Ark at the silentera.com database
2. ^ Baxter, John O. (1974). Stunt; the story of the great movie stunt men. Garden City, N.Y: Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-06520-5. 

External links

• Noah's Ark (1928) at the Internet Movie Database
• The Old Testament on Film at [e-mail]
• Dolores Costello's MySpace.com webpage
• The Transition from Silent to Sound at The American Widescreen Museum website
• Noah's Ark; allmovie.com