4 Devils
| 4 Devils | |
|---|---|
Janet Gaynor and Charles Morton
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| Directed by | F. W. Murnau |
| Produced by | William Fox |
| Written by | Carl Mayer |
| Based on | "Les Quatre Diables" by Herman Bang |
| Starring | Janet Gaynor Charles Morton Mary Duncan Barry Norton |
| Music by | Ernö Rapée Lew Pollack |
| Cinematography | L. William O'Connell Ernest Palmer |
| Distributed by | Fox Film Corporation |
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Release dates
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Running time
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100 minutes (Sound version) 97 minutes (Silent version) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent film English intertitles |
4 Devils (also known as Four Devils) is a lost[1][2] 1928 American silent drama film directed by German film director F. W. Murnau and starring Janet Gaynor.
Plot
The plot concerns four orphans (Janet Gaynor, Nancy Drexel, Barry Norton, and Charles Morton) who become a high wire act, and centers around sinister goings-on at a circus.
Cast
- Janet Gaynor - Marion
- Anders Randolf - Cecchi
- Barry Norton - Adolf
- Charles Morton - Charles
- André Cheron - Old roue
- George Davis - Mean clown
- Philippe De Lacy - Adolf as a child
- Nancy Drexel - Louise
- Mary Duncan - The lady
- Wesley Lake - Old clown
- Anita Louise - Louise as a child
- J. Farrell MacDonald - The clown
- Claire McDowell - Woman
- Jack Parker - Charles as a child
- Anne Shirley - Marion as a girl (billed as Dawn O'Day)
Production
4 Devils was released by Fox Film Corporation, and was produced by William Fox, who had hired Murnau to come to the United States. A sound version, incorporating "synchronised sound effects, music and dialogue sequences", was made without Murnau's cooperation.[3]
Preservation status
No copies of either version of the film are known to exist, and 4 Devils remains among the most sought after lost films of the silent era. Details about the movie can be found on the DVD for Sunrise,[3] released by Fox as part of their 20th Century Fox Studio Classics collection.
Film historian and collector William K. Everson stated that the only surviving print was lost by actress Mary Duncan who had borrowed it from Fox Studios.[4] Martin Koerber, curator of Deutsche Kinemathek, is more hopeful, writing that the print was given to Duncan, and that her heirs, if any, may yet have it.[3]
References
- ↑ The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: Four Devils
- ↑ Four Devils at TheGreatStars.com; Lost Films Wanted
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ SilentEra entry
External links
- 1928 films
- 1920s drama films
- 20th Century Fox films
- American drama films
- American films
- American silent feature films
- American black-and-white films
- Circus films
- English-language films
- Films about orphans
- Films based on works by Herman Bang
- Films directed by F. W. Murnau
- Films produced by William Fox
- Lost films
- Transitional sound films
- Screenplays by Carl Mayer
