Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1924 film)

1924 film by Marshall Neilan

Tess of the d'Urbervilles
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Directed by	Marshall Neilan
Written by	Dorothy Farnum
Based on	Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
Produced by	Louis B. Mayer
Starring	Blanche Sweet Conrad Nagel Stuart Holmes
Cinematography	David Kesson
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn
Release date	August 11, 1924 (1924-08-11)
Running time	80 minutes
Country	United States
Language	Silent (English intertitles)

Tess of the d'Urbervilles is a 1924 American silent drama film starring Blanche Sweet and Conrad Nagel. It was directed by Sweet's husband, Marshall Neilan. The film is the second motion picture adaptation of the 1891 novel by Thomas Hardy, which had been turned into a very successful 1897 play starring Mrs. Fiske. In 1913, Adolph Zukor enticed Mrs. Fiske to reprise her role in a film version which is now considered lost. The 1924 version is also considered lost.

Plot

A young servant girl is seduced and raped by an older middle class man in Victorian England when employed in his household. After moving on with her path, she gets married. All is well until her husband discovers her past. This fact prompts her on a life of wandering, murder, and execution.

Cast

Blanche Sweet as Teresa "Tess" Durbeyfield
Conrad Nagel as Angel Clare
Stuart Holmes as Alexander "Alec" D'Urberville
George Fawcett as John Durbeyfield
Victory Bateman as Joan Durbeyfield
Courtenay Foote as Richard Crick
Joseph J. Dowling as The Parson
Billy Butts as Little Boy (uncredited)
George Hickman as Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)
Babe London as Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)
Jane Mercer as Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)

Production

After the film was completed, Louis B. Mayer changed the tragic ending to a happy one, much to the annoyance of Neilan and Hardy.

Preservation

With no prints of Tess of the d'Urbervilles located in any film archives, it is a lost film.

References

Variety film review; July 30, 1924, p. 24.
Harrison's Reports review; August 2, 1924; p. 123.
"Tess of the d'Urbervilles". IBDB.com. Internet Broadway Database.
Progressive Silent Film List: Tess of the d'Urbervilles at silentera.com
Eames, John Douglas (1982). The MGM Story: The Complete History of Fifty-Seven Roaring Years, Crown Publishers, p. 12 ISBN 0-5175-3810-5
Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: Tess of the d'Urbervilles

External links

v t e Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891)
Film	Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1913) Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1924) Man Ki Jeet (1944) Dulhan Ek Raat Ki (1967) Tess (1979) Prem Granth (1996) Trishna (2011)
Television	Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1998 TV series) Tess of the D'Urbervilles (2008 TV series)
Related	Thomas Hardy's Wessex
Wikisource texts

v t e Films directed by Marshall Neilan
The Deadly Battle at Hicksville (1914) The Bottle Imp (1917) The Silent Partner (1917) Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1917) A Little Princess (1917) Stella Maris (1918) Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley (1918) M'Liss (1918) Hit-The-Trail Holliday (1918) Heart of the Wilds (1918) Out of a Clear Sky (1918) Three Men and a Girl (1919) The Unpardonable Sin (1919) Her Kingdom of Dreams (1919) Daddy-Long-Legs (1919) In Old Kentucky (1919) Don't Ever Marry (1920) Go and Get It (1920) Dinty (1920) Bob Hampton of Placer (1921) Bits of Life (1921) The Lotus Eater (1921) Penrod (1922) Fools First (1922) The Strangers' Banquet (1922) Minnie (1922) The Rendezvous (1923) The Eternal Three (1923) Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall (1924) Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1924) The Sporting Venus (1925) The Great Love (1925) The Skyrocket (1926) Mike (1926) Diplomacy (1926) Everybody's Acting (1926) Wild Oats Lane (1926) Venus of Venice (1927) Her Wild Oat (1927) Take Me Home (1928) Taxi 13 (1928) His Last Haul (1928) Three-Ring Marriage (1928) The Awful Truth (1929) Tanned Legs (1929) (uncredited) The Vagabond Lover* (1929) Sweethearts on Parade (1930) Social Register (1934) Chloe, Love Is Calling You (1934) The Lemon Drop Kid (1934) This Is the Life (1935) Swing It, Professor (1937) Sing While You're Able (1937) Thanks for Listening (1937)

Films directed by Marshall Neilan

The Deadly Battle at Hicksville (1914)
The Bottle Imp (1917)
The Silent Partner (1917)
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1917)
A Little Princess (1917)
Stella Maris (1918)
Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley (1918)
M'Liss (1918)
Hit-The-Trail Holliday (1918)
Heart of the Wilds (1918)
Out of a Clear Sky (1918)
Three Men and a Girl (1919)
The Unpardonable Sin (1919)
Her Kingdom of Dreams (1919)
Daddy-Long-Legs (1919)
In Old Kentucky (1919)
Don't Ever Marry (1920)
Go and Get It (1920)
Dinty (1920)
Bob Hampton of Placer (1921)
Bits of Life (1921)
The Lotus Eater (1921)
Penrod (1922)
Fools First (1922)
The Strangers' Banquet (1922)
Minnie (1922)
The Rendezvous (1923)
The Eternal Three (1923)
Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall (1924)
Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1924)
The Sporting Venus (1925)
The Great Love (1925)
The Skyrocket (1926)
Mike (1926)
Diplomacy (1926)
Everybody's Acting (1926)
Wild Oats Lane (1926)
Venus of Venice (1927)
Her Wild Oat (1927)
Take Me Home (1928)
Taxi 13 (1928)
His Last Haul (1928)
Three-Ring Marriage (1928)
The Awful Truth (1929)
Tanned Legs (1929) (*uncredited)
The Vagabond Lover (1929)
Sweethearts on Parade (1930)
Social Register (1934)
Chloe, Love Is Calling You (1934)
The Lemon Drop Kid (1934)
This Is the Life (1935)
Swing It, Professor (1937)
Sing While You're Able (1937)
Thanks for Listening (1937)

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