Romance of the Underworld - Misplaced Pages

1928 film

Romance of the Underworld
Film poster
Directed by	Irving Cummings
Written by	Douglas Z. Doty (screenplay) Garrett Graham (intertitles)
Story by	Douglas Z. Doty Sidney Lanfield
Based on	A Romance of the Underworld by Paul Armstrong
Produced by	William Fox
Starring	Mary Astor
Cinematography	Conrad Wells
Edited by	Frank Hull
Distributed by	Fox Film Corporation
Release date	November 11, 1928 (1928-11-11)
Running time	68 minutes; 7 reels (6,162 feet)
Country	United States
Languages	Sound (Synchronized) (English Intertitles)

Romance of the Underworld is a 1928 American synchronized sound drama film produced and distributed by Fox Film Corporation. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the sound-on-film movietone process. Directed by Irving Cummings and starring Mary Astor, it was based upon a stage play called A Romance of the Underworld by Paul Armstrong. A previous version of the story was filmed as A Romance of the Underworld in 1918 by director James Kirkwood with Catherine Calvert in Astor's part.

Plot

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Cast

Mary Astor as Judith Andrews
Ben Bard as Derby Dan Manning
Robert Elliott as Edwin Burke
John Boles as Stephen Ransome
Oscar Apfel as Champagne Joe
Helen Lynch as Blonodie Nell
William H. Tooker as Asa Jenks

Uncredited

William Benge as Bartender
Maurice Black as Maitre D'
Sherry Hall as Pianist
John Kelly as window cleaner

Music

The film featured a theme song titled "Judy", which was composed by Irving Kahal, Sammy Fain, and Pierre Norman.

Censorship considerations

The Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, formed by the film industry in 1922, regulated the content of films through a list of subjects that were to be avoided. While Mary Astor portrayed a prostitute in Romance of the Underworld, this was acceptable as prostitution was not explicitly barred so long as it was not forced (i.e., white slavery) and aspects of her work were not shown in the film. Here the work of Astor's character is ambiguously described as being a "hostess."

Preservation

Romance of the Underworld is extant at the Museum of Modern Art and in a European archive.

References

Campbell, Russell (1997). "Prostitution and Film Censorship in the USA". Screening the Past (2): C/6. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
Progressive Silent Film List: Romance of the Underworld at silentera.com
The American Film Institute Catalog Feature Films: 1921-30 by The American Film Institute, c. 1971
The Library of Congress/FIAF American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog:Romance of the Underworld

External links

v t e Films directed by Irving Cummings
Flesh and Blood (1922) Broad Daylight (1922) The Jilt (1922) The Man from Hell's River (1922) Paid Back (1922) Environment (1922) The Drug Traffic (1923) East Side - West Side (1923) Broken Hearts of Broadway (1923) Stolen Secrets (1924) In Every Woman's Life (1924) Riders Up (1924) Fools Highway (1924) The Dancing Cheat (1924) The Rose of Paris (1924) As Man Desires (1925) One Year to Live (1925) Just a Woman (1925) The Desert Flower (1925) Infatuation (1925) The Johnstown Flood (1926) Rustling for Cupid (1926) The Midnight Kiss (1926) The Country Beyond (1926) Bertha, the Sewing Machine Girl (1926) The Brute (1927) The Port of Missing Girls (1928) Romance of the Underworld (1928) Dressed to Kill (1928) In Old Arizona (1928) Behind That Curtain (1929) Not Quite Decent (1929) Cameo Kirby (1930) On the Level (1930) A Devil with Women (1930) A Holy Terror (1931) The Cisco Kid (1931) Attorney for the Defense (1932) The Night Club Lady (1932) Man Against Woman (1932) Man Hunt (1933) The Woman I Stole (1933) The Mad Game (1933) I Believed in You (1934) Grand Canary (1934) The White Parade (1934) Curly Top (1935) It's a Small World (1935) Poor Little Rich Girl (1936) Girls' Dormitory (1936) White Hunter (1936) Vogues of 1938 (1937) Merry-Go-Round of 1938 (1937) Little Miss Broadway (1938) Just Around the Corner (1938) Everything Happens at Night (1939) Hollywood Cavalcade (1939) The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939) Lillian Russell (1940) Down Argentine Way (1940) That Night in Rio (1941) Belle Starr (1941) Louisiana Purchase (1941) My Gal Sal (1942) Springtime in the Rockies (1942) Sweet Rosie O'Grady (1943) What a Woman! (1943) The Impatient Years (1944) The Dolly Sisters (1945) Double Dynamite (1951)

Films directed by Irving Cummings

Flesh and Blood (1922)
Broad Daylight (1922)
The Jilt (1922)
The Man from Hell's River (1922)
Paid Back (1922)
Environment (1922)
The Drug Traffic (1923)
East Side - West Side (1923)
Broken Hearts of Broadway (1923)
Stolen Secrets (1924)
In Every Woman's Life (1924)
Riders Up (1924)
Fools Highway (1924)
The Dancing Cheat (1924)
The Rose of Paris (1924)
As Man Desires (1925)
One Year to Live (1925)
Just a Woman (1925)
The Desert Flower (1925)
Infatuation (1925)
The Johnstown Flood (1926)
Rustling for Cupid (1926)
The Midnight Kiss (1926)
The Country Beyond (1926)
Bertha, the Sewing Machine Girl (1926)
The Brute (1927)
The Port of Missing Girls (1928)
Romance of the Underworld (1928)
Dressed to Kill (1928)
In Old Arizona (1928)
Behind That Curtain (1929)
Not Quite Decent (1929)
Cameo Kirby (1930)
On the Level (1930)
A Devil with Women (1930)
A Holy Terror (1931)
The Cisco Kid (1931)
Attorney for the Defense (1932)
The Night Club Lady (1932)
Man Against Woman (1932)
Man Hunt (1933)
The Woman I Stole (1933)
The Mad Game (1933)
I Believed in You (1934)
Grand Canary (1934)
The White Parade (1934)
Curly Top (1935)
It's a Small World (1935)
Poor Little Rich Girl (1936)
Girls' Dormitory (1936)
White Hunter (1936)
Vogues of 1938 (1937)
Merry-Go-Round of 1938 (1937)
Little Miss Broadway (1938)
Just Around the Corner (1938)
Everything Happens at Night (1939)
Hollywood Cavalcade (1939)
The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939)
Lillian Russell (1940)
Down Argentine Way (1940)
That Night in Rio (1941)
Belle Starr (1941)
Louisiana Purchase (1941)
My Gal Sal (1942)
Springtime in the Rockies (1942)
Sweet Rosie O'Grady (1943)
What a Woman! (1943)
The Impatient Years (1944)
The Dolly Sisters (1945)
Double Dynamite (1951)

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