The Stranger (1924 film)

The Stranger
The Stranger
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Directed by	Joseph Henabery
Written by	Edfrid A. Bingham (adaptation)
Based on	The First and the LastnBR>1918 novel; by John Galsworthy
Produced by	Adolph Zukor; Jesse Lasky
Starring	Betty Compson; Richard Dix
Cinematography	Faxon M. Dean; L. Guy Wilky
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	February 24, 1924;
Running time	70 minutes; 7 reels
Country	United States
Language	Silent (English intertitles)

The Stranger is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Joseph Henabery and starring Betty Compson and Richard Dix. It is based on a 1918 novel, The First and the Last, by John Galsworthy. It was produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed through Paramount Pictures.^[1]

Plot

As described in a review of the film in a film magazine,^[2] just as Keith Darrant (Stone), a high-class Englishman, has a chance for political honors, his ne'er-do-well brother Larry (Dix) appears on the scene. Larry makes the acquaintance of Peggy Bowlin (Compson), a girl who is down and out, and a strong friendship begins. After a time Larry installs the girl in a better neighborhood and just as they are preparing to marry and leave England, a convict who blames her for his having to go to jail returns, and in a fight Larry accidentally kills him. "The Stranger" (Marshall), an outcast working in the saloon which the girl frequented, is arrested for the murder and refuses to say anything, fearing it will injure the girl’s new found happiness. The stranger is convicted and, as he is ready to pay the supreme penalty on the scaffold, Larry convinces Keith he must throw all considerations to the winds and save the old man. Just as they arrive on the scene, the thought of freedom is too much for the stranger. He collapses and dies, so the truth remains forever hidden and the happiness of the girl who has been kind to him is assured.

Cast

Betty Compson as Peggy Bowlin
Richard Dix as Larry Darrant
Lewis Stone as Keith Darrant
Tully Marshall as The Stranger
Robert Schable as Jim Walenn
Mary Jane Irving as Maizie Darrant
Frank Nelson as Jackal / Bill Cutts
Marian Skinner as Landlady

Preservation

With no prints of The Stranger located in any film archives,^[3] it is a lost film.

References

^ The AFI Catalog of Feature Films: The Stranger
^ Sewell, C. S. (February 16, 1924). "The Stranger: Intensely Dramatic and Unexpected Climax Marks Paramount Adaptation of Story by Galsworthy". The Moving Picture World. 66 (7). New York City: Chalmers Publishing Co.: 582. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
^ The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: The Stranger

External links

The Stranger at IMDb
Synopsis at AllMovie
The Stranger at the TCM Movie Database
The Stranger at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films

This article about a silent drama film from the 1920s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] The AFI Catalog of Feature Films: The Stranger

[2] Sewell, C. S. (February 16, 1924). "The Stranger: Intensely Dramatic and Unexpected Climax Marks Paramount Adaptation of Story by Galsworthy". The Moving Picture World. 66 (7). New York City: Chalmers Publishing Co.: 582. Retrieved March 19, 2021.

[3] The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: The Stranger

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