The Road to Yesterday is a 1925 American silent romantic drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille.[1] The film was based on a 1908 play of the same name by Beulah Marie Dix and Evelyn Greenleaf Sutherland and was adapted by Dix and Jeanie MacPherson. Art direction for the film was done by Paul Iribe, Anton Grot, Mitchell Leisen, and Max Parker.[2]
| The Road to Yesterday | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Cecil B. DeMille Frank Urson (asst. director) |
| Written by | Beulah Marie Dix Jeanie MacPherson |
| Based on | The Road to Yesterday (play) by Beulah Marie Dix Evelyn Greenleaf Sutherland |
| Produced by | Cecil B. DeMille |
| Starring | Joseph Schildkraut Jetta Goudal Vera Reynolds |
| Cinematography | J. Peverell Marley |
| Edited by | Anne Bauchens |
| Music by | Rudolph Berliner |
Production company | De Mille Pictures Corp. |
| Distributed by | Producers Distributing Corporation |
Release date |
|
Running time | 107 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
The film is significant because it was Cecil B. DeMille's first release from his new production company, DeMille Pictures Corporation. It was also upcoming actor William Boyd's first starring role. In DeMille's next picture, The Volga Boatman, which was a tremendous success, he cast Boyd as the solo leading man.
Plot
editAs described in a film magazine review,[3] Malena, a young bride, has a fear of her husband Kenneth which she cannot understand but which he attributes to his unprepossessing physical appearance. Finally, angered, the young husband leaves his wife to go to Chicago and have a physical defect overcome, if this be possible. His wife leaves on the same train. The train is wrecked and the young man rescues his wife from death. Thereafter they understand each other.
Cast
edit- Joseph Schildkraut as Kenneth Paulton
- Jetta Goudal as Malena Paulton
- William Boyd as Jack Moreland
- Vera Reynolds as Beth Tyrell
- Trixie Friganza as Harriet Tyrell
- Casson Ferguson as Adrian Thompkyns
- Julia Faye as Dolly Foules
- Clarence Burton as Hugh Armstrong
- Charles West as Watt Earnshaw
- Josephine Norman as Anne Vener
- Wilson Benge as Kenneth's Butler (uncredited)
- Robert Brower as Elderly Party Guest (uncredited)
- Charles Clary as Doctor (uncredited)
- Iron Eyes Cody as Indian (uncredited)
- Frank Coghlan Jr. as Boy Scout (uncredited)
- Walter Long as Thug at Burning Stake scene (uncredited)
- Chester Morris as Guest
- Sally Rand (uncredited)
- Dick Sutherland as Torturer (uncredited)
Preservation and Availability
editComplete prints of The Road to Yesterday are held by:
- Library of Congress (on 35 mm)
- George Eastman Museum
- UCLA Film and Television Archive (on 16 mm and 35 mm)
- Academy Film Archive.[4]
Prints also exist in private collections on 16 mm and 8mm film.[1]
On September 24, 2013, the film was released on DVD by Alpha Video.[5] Another DVD version was released on July 31, 2014, by The Video Cellar.
References
edit- ^ a b "Progressive Silent Film List: The Road to Yesterday". silentera.com. Retrieved June 21, 2008.
- ^ "The Road to Yesterday". afi.com. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
- ^ "New Pictures: The Road to Yesterday", Exhibitors Herald, 23 (5), Chicago, Illinois: Exhibitors Herald Company: 53–54, October 24, 1925, retrieved October 23, 2022
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "American Silent Feature Film Database: The Road to Yesterday". Library of Congress. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
- ^ "Silent Era Films on Home Video: The Road to Yesterday". silentera.com. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
External links
edit
- The Road to Yesterday at IMDb
- Synopsis at AllMovie
- The Road to Yesterday (1925) A Silent Film Review at moviessilently.com
- The Road to Yesterday (1925) on YouTube
- The Road to Yesterday is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive