Noah's Ark (film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the Biblical story, see Noah's Ark.

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)	1929
Running time	135 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
IMDb profile

Noah’s Ark is a 1929 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.

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. ^[1] 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.

Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Cast 3 Uncredited cast 4 Release & re-release 5 Preservation 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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

[edit] 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

[edit] Release & re-release

The film premiered in Hollywood in late 1928, and was scheduled to be released originally as a silent film in 1929. Warner Bros. withdrew the film and added several scenes of dialogue and a soundtrack, then re-released it later the same year, due largely to the overwhelming success of the Jazz Singer.

The film was re-released in 1957 (or at least 75 minutes of it), with only the silent portions featuring the story of the Ark utilized. The dialogue and soundtrack portions envolving the modern storyline were cut out.

[edit] Preservation

The original release of 135 minutes is no longer extant. 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 in October, 1993.

[edit] See also

• John Wayne filmography (1926-1940)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2008)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Noah's Ark (1928) at the Internet Movie Database
• The Old Testament on Film at Codex@BiblicalStudies.com
• Dolores Costello's MySpace.com webpage
• The Transition from Silent to Sound at The American Widescreen Museum website

v • d • e The films of Michael Curtiz 1910s The Last Bohemian • Today and Tomorrow • Captive Souls • My Husband's Getting Married • The Exile • The Borrowed Babies The Princess in a Nightrobe • Prisoner of the Night • Bánk Bán • Golddigger • One Who Is Loved By Two • Seven of Spades • The Strength of the Fatherland • The Karthauzer The Black Rainbow • The Wolf • The Medic • Mr. Doctor • Master Zoard • The Red Samson • The Last Dawn • Spring in Winter • Tartar Invasion Secret of St. Job Forest • Nobody's Son • The Charlatan • A Penny's History • The Fishing Bell • Earth's Man • The Colonel • Peace's Road Jean the Tenant • The Merry Widow • Magic Waltz • A Skorpió I. • The Devil • Lulu • Lu, the Coquette • Júdás • The Ugly Boy • Alraune (with Edmund Fritz) • 99 • The Sunflower Woman • Liliom • The Lady with the Black Gloves 1920s Boccaccio • The Star of Damascus • The Scourge of God • Miss Tutti Frutti • Good and Evil • Mrs. Dane's Confession • Labyrinth of Horror Sodom and Gomorrah • Young Medardus • Avalanche • Nameless • A Deadly Game • General Babka Harun al Raschid • Moon of Israel • Red Heels • Cab No. 13 • The Golden Butterfly • The Third Degree • A Million Bid • The Desired Woman Good Time Charley • Tenderloin • Noah's Ark • Glad Rag Doll • Madonna of Avenue A • The Gamblers • Hearts in Exile 1930s Mammy • Under a Texas Moon • The Matrimonial Bed • Bright Lights • A Soldier's Plaything • River's End • Demon of the Sea God's Gift to Women • The Mad Genius • The Woman from Monte Carlo • The Strange Love of Molly Louvain • Doctor X • The Cabin in the Cotton • 20,000 Years in Sing Sing • Mystery of the Wax Museum • The Keyhole • Private Detective 62 • Goodbye Again • The Kennel Murder Case • Female • Mandalay • Jimmy the Gent • The Key • British Agent • The Case of the Curious Bride • Black Fury • Front Page Woman • Little Big Shot • Captain Blood • The Walking Dead • The Charge of the Light Brigade • Stolen Holiday • Mountain Justice • Kid Galahad • The Perfect Specimen • Gold Is Where You Find It • The Adventures of Robin Hood (with William Keighley) • Four's a Crowd • Four Daughters • Angels with Dirty Faces • Dodge City • Daughters Courageous • The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex • Four Wives 1940s Virginia City • The Sea Hawk • Santa Fe Trail • The Sea Wolf • Dive Bomber • Captains of the Clouds • Yankee Doodle Dandy • Casablanca • Mission to Moscow • This Is the Army • Passage to Marseille • Janie • Roughly Speaking • Mildred Pierce • Night and Day • Life with Father The Unsuspected • Romance on the High Seas • My Dream Is Yours (with Friz Freleng) • Flamingo Road • The Lady Takes a Sailor 1950s Young Man with a Horn • Bright Leaf • The Breaking Point • Force of Arms • Jim Thorpe -- All-American • I'll See You in My Dreams The Story of Will Rogers • The Jazz Singer Trouble Along the Way • The Boy from Oklahoma • The Egyptian • White Christmas • We're No Angels The Scarlet Hour • The Vagabond King • The Best Things in Life Are Free • The Helen Morgan Story • The Proud Rebel • King Creole • The Hangman • The Man in the Net 1960s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn • A Breath of Scandal • Francis of Assisi • The Comancheros Short films Jön az öcsém (1919) • Sons of Liberty (1939) Productions Bright Lights (1935)