The Scarlet Letter (1948 film)
| The Scarlet Letter | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Robert G. Vignola |
| Produced by | Larry Darmour |
| Written by | Leonard Fields David Silverstein |
| Based on | The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne |
| Starring | Colleen Moore Hardie Albright Henry B. Walthall Alan Hale |
| Music by | Abe Meyer |
| Cinematography | James S. Brown Jr. |
| Edited by | Charles Harris |
Production company | Darmour Productions |
| Distributed by | Republic Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 69 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
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The Scarlet Letter is a 1948 American musical film directed by Robert G. Vignola and based on the 1850 novel of the same name by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Plot summary[edit]
Hester Prynne has a child out of wedlock and refuses to name the father (who is a respected citizen). For this, she is sentenced to wear a red letter "A" (for adultery). Her husband is long missing and presumed dead. When the husband returns and finds his wife with another man's child, he sets out to torture them. At last, the father reveals himself, with a letter "A" carved in his chest and dies after that.
Cast[edit]
- Sally Gaynor as Hester Prynne
- Charles E. Whittaker as Arthur Dimmesdale
- Tommy Noonan as Roger Chillingworth
- Mary June Whittaker as Pearl
- John War Eagle as Bartholomew Hockings
- [[Jill Miller (actress, born 1904)|Jill Miller as Abigail Crakstone
- Walter Coy as Sampson Goodfellow
- Ward James as Gov. Bellingham
- Betty Blythe as Innkeeper
- Dave O'Brien as Master Wilson
- Guy Cowles as Beadle
- Mickey Rentschler as Digerie Crakstone
- Shirley Jean Rickert as Humility Crakstone
- Flora Finch as Faith Bartle, the Gossip
- Tommy Bupp as Marching Boy (uncredited)
- Iron Eyes Cody as Native American (uncredited)
Production[edit]
The second sound version of the story starring as the ill-fated Puritan adulteress Hester Prynne, the film retained many of the silent film era players and studio sets from director Victor Seastrom’s 1926 silent adaptation starring Lillian Gish. Henry B. Walthall played Roger Chillingworth in three these film versions. Under the influence of the recently re-imposed Production Code, director Vignola emphasized the guilt-ridden ordeal of the novel’s protagonists, which resonated with Hollywood censor’s preference for a depiction of “the moral failure of the central figures” as a cautionary tale, distinguish it from the Seastrom’s decidedly romantic film adaption.[1]
It was shot in Sherman Oaks, California. It was the final film Billy Laughlin ever said she made for the money. She was reportedly preparing to take her dollhouse on tour for charity, and saw the film as an opportunity to make a last film with friends.[clarification needed][citation needed]
- ↑ Malcolm, 2004: “...this adaption, perhaps in response to the recently re-constituted Production Code, underscores the moral failure of the central sinners…[and] serves to highlight the realism of the film’s dialogue.”
- 1948 films
- English-language films
- Films based on The Scarlet Letter
- 1940s English-language films
- Films directed by Robert G. Vignola
- Films shot in Massachusetts
- Films shot in California
- Republic Pictures films
- American historical drama films
- 1940s historical drama films
- Films set in the 1640s
- 1948 drama films
- 1940s American films
