''Children of Divorce'' is a 1927 American silent

romantic drama film Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...

directed by

Frank Lloyd Frank William George Lloyd (2 February 1886 – 10 August 1960) was a Scottish-American film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. He was among the founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and was its president from ...

and starring

Clara Bow Clara Gordon Bow (; July 29, 1905 – September 27, 1965) was an American actress who rose to stardom during the silent film era of the 1920s and successfully made the transition to "talkies" in 1929. Her appearance as a plucky shopgirl in the ...

Esther Ralston Esther Ralston (born Esther Louise Worth, September 17, 1902 – January 14, 1994) was an American silent films, silent film star. Her most prominent sound picture was ''To the Last Man (1933 film), To the Last Man'' in 1933. Early life and c ...

, and

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, silent screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, ...

. Adapted from the 1927 novel of the same name by Owen Johnson, and written by Louis D. Lighton,

Hope Loring Hope Loring (29 January 1894 – 17 January 1959) was an English screenwriter. She wrote for 63 films between 1918 and 1931. She was born in England and died in Majorca, Spain. She was married to fellow screenwriter and producer Louis D. Light ...

, Alfred Hustwick, and Adela Rogers St. Johns, the film is about a young

flapper Flappers were a subculture of young Western women prominent after the First World War and through the 1920s who wore short skirts (knee length was considered short during that period), bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their ...

who tricks her wealthy friend into marrying her during a night of drunken revelry. Even though she knows that he is in love with another woman, she refuses to grant him a divorce and repeat the mistake of her divorced parents. Produced by

Jesse L. Lasky Jesse Louis Lasky (September 13, 1880 – January 13, 1958) was an American pioneer motion picture producer who was a key founder of what was to become Paramount Pictures, and father of screenwriter Jesse L. Lasky Jr. Early life Born in to ...

, E. Lloyd Sheldon, and

Adolph Zukor Adolph Zukor (; ; January 7, 1873 – June 10, 1976) was a Hungarian-American film producer best known as one of the three founders of Paramount Pictures.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'' (June 16, 1976), p. 76. He produced one of Ameri ...

for the

Famous Players–Lasky The Famous Players–Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company formed on June 28, 1916, from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Companyoriginally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Playsan ...

, the film was released on April 25, 1927 by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

Plot

As children. Jean Waddington ( Yvonne Pelletier) and Kitty Flanders (

Joyce Coad Joyce Coad (April 14, 1917 – May 3, 1987) was an American child actress in motion pictures. Child prodigy Coad's foster father was Raymond E. Coad. By the age of five she became a reader of children's stories on radio station KHJ in Los Ang ...

) meet in a boarding school, both dropped off by their divorced parents as inconvenient children. One day Ted Larrabee (

Marion Feducha Marion or MARION may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Marion (band), a British alternative rock group * ''Marion'' (miniseries), a 1974 miniseries * ''Marion'' (1920 film), an Italian silent film * ''Marion'' (2024 film), a UK short People a ...

), whose parents are also divorced, climbs over the school wall, and the three of them commiserate and pledge to never divorce. After growing up, Ted and Kitty (now played by

and

) are friends in America. Jean (

) returns from Europe, and Ted and Jean are fascinated by each other, to Kitty's dismay. At a party that night, Kitty tells her lover Prince Ludovico de Saxe ( Einar Hanson) that since he has no money, she can't marry him; and sets her sights on the wealthy Ted. Ted proposes to Jean, but knowing that Ted's father was unfaithful to his wife and irresponsible, Jean demands that he prove himself before she accepts his proposal. Ted starts an architectural business designing bridges. To celebrate the new business, Kitty shows up with their friends and a lot of booze, and Ted takes part in the revelry. The next morning, Ted arises finding that he and Kitty were married while on a drunken spree. Jean, still opposed to divorce, convinces Ted that he and Kitty can be happy together, and returns to Europe. Several years later, Jean meets Ted and Kitty in Paris. Kitty sees that Jean is more kind to her daughter than she ever was. Realizing that both Ted and her daughter would be happier with Jean, and unwilling to get the divorce they all pledged to avoid, she poisons herself.

Cast

as Kitty Flanders *

as Jean Waddington *

as Edward D. 'Ted' Larrabee * Einar Hanson as Prince Ludovico de Saxe *

Norman Trevor Norman Gilbert Pritchard (23 June 1875 – 30 October 1929), also known by his stage name Norman Trevor, was a British-Indian athlete and actor who became the first Asian-born athlete to win an Olympic medal when he won two silver medals in at ...

as Duke Henri de Goncourt *

Hedda Hopper Elda Furry (May 2, 1885February 1, 1966), known professionally as Hedda Hopper, was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, more than 35 million people read her columns. A strong supporter of the Hous ...

as Katherine Flanders *

Edward Martindel Edward Martindel (July 8, 1876 – May 4, 1955) was an American stage and film actor who appeared on Broadway theatre, Broadway and in more than 80 films between 1915 and 1946. Born in Hamilton, Ohio, he was the son of Dr. and Mrs. Frank ...

as Tom Larrabee *

Julia Swayne Gordon Julia Swayne Gordon (born Sarah Victoria Smith; October 29, 1878 – May 28, 1933) was an American actress who appeared in at least 228 films between 1908 and 1933. Early years Gordon was born in Columbus, Ohio to Louis and Anna Smith and was ...

as Princess de Saxe *

Tom Ricketts Thomas B. Ricketts (15 January 1853 – 19 January 1939) was an English-born American stage actor, stage and motion picture, film actor and film director, director who was a pioneer in the film industry. He portrayed Ebenezer Scrooge in the fi ...

as The Secretary *

Albert Gran Albert Gran (August 4, 1862 – December 16, 1932) was a Norwegian-born American stage and film actor. He is most associated with his appearance in drama and light comedy films. Biography Albert Gran was born in Bergen, Norway. He was the s ...

as Mr. Seymour * Iris Stuart as Mousie *

Margaret Campbell Margaret Campbell (April 24, 1883 – June 27, 1939) was an American character actress in silent films. In her later years, she was the secretary of the Baháʼí Spiritual Assembly of Los Angeles. Career Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Campbell ...

as Mother Superior * Percy Williams as Manning *

as Little Kitty * Yvonne Pelletier as Little Jean

Production

Director Frank Lloyd’s film was deemed commercially nonviable by Paramount publicists. With one million dollars already invested in the picture, studio executives were loath to shelve the production. Josef von Sternberg, recently enlisted as an assistant director at Paramount, was tasked with “salvaging” ''Children of Divorce'' by rewriting the text of the intertitles. Von Sternberg, in his 1965 autobiography, reports that he declined the intertitle revision, but assured producer B. P. Schulberg that he could “ eshoothalf the film in three days and turn over a successful version to him.” Schulberg accepted the offer. As all the stages on Paramount lot were occupied, the remake was executed in a large tent erected for that purpose, with portions of the old set transferred from storage. After “three days and three nights” the director, actors and crew delivered a product that ranked high in box office returns in 1925. Von Sternberg remarked: “An ice-cold million dollars had been warmed up.”

Preservation

A print of ''Children of Divorce'' is located in the collection of the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

.Library of Congress / FIAF American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: ''Children of Divorce''
/ref>

Footnotes

Sources

* * * Sternberg, Josef von. 1988. ''Fun in a Chinese Laundry''. Mercury House, San Francisco, California. (pbk.)

External links

* * {{Frank Lloyd 1927 films 1927 romantic drama films 1920s English-language films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Famous Players-Lasky films Films about divorce Films based on American novels Films directed by Frank Lloyd Films shot in California Paramount Pictures films 1920s American films Silent American romantic drama films Surviving American silent films English-language romantic drama films Films based on works by Owen Johnson