''Our Dancing Daughters'' is a 1928 American silent

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

starring

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pict ...

and John Mack Brown about the "loosening of youth morals" that took place during the 1920s. The film was directed by Harry Beaumont and produced by

Hunt Stromberg Hunt Stromberg (July 12, 1894 – August 23, 1968) was a film producer during Hollywood's Golden Age. In a prolific 30-year career beginning in 1921, Stromberg produced, wrote, and directed some of Hollywood's most profitable and enduring films, ...

. Whilst the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized soundtrack and sound effects. The film launched the career of

Plot

"Dangerous Diana" Medford (Crawford) is outwardly flamboyant and popular but inwardly virtuous and idealistic, patronizing her parents by telling them not to stay out late. Her friend Ann chases boys for their money and is as amoral as her mother. Diana and Ann are both attracted to Ben Blaine (Brown). He takes Diana's flirtatious behavior with other boys as a sign of lack of interest in him and marries Ann, who has lied about her virtues. Bea, a mutual friend of Diana and Ann, also meets and marries a wealthy suitor named Norman who loves her but is haunted by her past. Diana becomes distraught for a while about the marriages of her friends with questionable pasts. She decides to go away and Bea throws a raucous bon voyage party at the yacht club (complete with sculpted ice

ocean liner An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). Ca ...

centerpiece), which Ben declined to attend and made Ann decline as well. The same evening Ann hopes to meet up with her lover, Freddie, telling her husband she is going to see her sick mom. When her mom calls and Ben realizes Ann has lied to him yet again, they get into an argument and Ann storms out to meet Freddie. Now alone, Ben decides to stop by the party where he and Diana realize their love for each other. Meanwhile, a drunken Ann follows Freddie into the party only to find Ben and Diana alone together in a quiet room. She causes an uproar, after which both Diana and Ben leave the party declaring their love but ultimately saying goodbye to one another. Norman arrives at the dwindling party to find Bea trying to help the inebriated Ann home. On her way out, Ann mocks a trio of cleaning women and reflects on her and her mother's gold-digging strategy. Distracted by this, she stumbles and falls down a flight of stairs to her death. Headlines tell of Diana's return home after two years away, upon which she and Ben are happily reunited.

Cast

as Diana "Di" Medford aka Diana the Dangerous * John Mack Brown as Ben Blaine *

Nils Asther Nils Anton Alfhild Asther (17 January 1897 – 19 October 1981)Swedi ...

as Norman *

Dorothy Sebastian Dorothy Sebastian (born Stella Dorothy Sabiston; April 26, 1903The book ''Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory'' gives Sebastian's date of birth as April 26, 1907. – April 8, 1957) was an American film and stage actress. Ear ...

as Beatrice "Bea" *

Anita Page Anita Page (born Anita Evelyn Pomares; August 4, 1910 – September 6, 2008) was an American film actress who reached stardom in the final years of the silent film era. She was referred to as "a blond, blue-eyed Latin" and "the girl with the mos ...

as Ann "Annikins" *

Kathlyn Williams Kathlyn Williams (born Kathleen Mabel Williams, May 31, 1879 – September 23, 1960) was an American actress, known for her blonde beauty and daring antics, who performed on stage as well as in early silent film. She began her career onstage in ...

as Ann's mother *

Edward J. Nugent Edward James Nugent (February 7, 1904 – January 3, 1995) was an American film and stage actor. Biography Born in 1904 in New York City, Nugent appeared in more than 80 films between 1928 and 1937. He subsequently had a second acting career ...

as Freddie *

Dorothy Cumming Dorothy Greville Cumming (12 April 1894 – 10 December 1983) was an actress of the silent film era. She appeared in 39 American, English, and Australian films between 1915 and 1929, notably appearing as the Virgin Mary in Cecil B. DeMille' ...

as Diana's mother *

Huntley Gordon Huntley Ashworth Gordon (October 8, 1879 – December 7, 1956) was a Canadian actor who began his career in the Silent Film era. Profile Gordon was born in Montreal, Quebec, educated in both Canada and England. He had various jobs including w ...

as Diana's father * Evelyn Hall as Freddie's mother *

Sam De Grasse Samuel Alfred De Grasse (June 12, 1875 – November 29, 1953) was a Canadian actor. He was the uncle of cinematographer Robert De Grasse. Biography Samuel Alfred De Grasse was born in Bathurst, New Brunswick to Lange De Grasse (1828–1891) ...

as Freddie's father

Production

Joan Crawford stripped naked in front of the producer in order to get the lead role in this film. When the decision maker told Joan that the director was in charge of casting, Joan went to his office, repeated her performance, and got the part.

Reception

Bland Johnson in the ''

New York Mirror The ''New-York Mirror'' was a weekly newspaper published in New York City from 1823 to 1842, succeeded by ''The New Mirror'' in 1843 and 1844. Its producers then launched a daily newspaper named ''The Evening Mirror'', which published from 18 ...

'' commented, "Joan Crawford...does the greatest work of her career." The film was also nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Screenplay (Josephine Lovett) and Best Cinematography (George Barnes).

Box office

According to MGM records the film earned $757,000 in the US and Canada and $342,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $304,000.

Cultural impact

It was due in part to her role as the ferociously free Charleston-dancing,

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholi ...

-era-booze-swilling, stage-diving "Dangerous" Diana Medford that

F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...

wrote of Joan Crawford:

Home Video

This was released in 2010 on DVD. It will be released on blu ray in January, 2022.

References

External links

* *
Our Dancing Daughters
at

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of ...

* * {{Harry Beaumont 1928 films American romantic drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films 1920s English-language films Films directed by Harry Beaumont Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Transitional sound films Surviving American silent films 1928 romantic drama films 1920s American films Silent romantic drama films Silent American drama films