''Classmates'' is a 1924 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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

starring

Richard Barthelmess Richard Semler Barthelmess (May 9, 1895 – August 17, 1963) was an American film actor, principally of the Hollywood silent era. He starred opposite Lillian Gish in D. W. Griffith's '' Broken Blossoms'' (1919) and ''Way Down East'' (1920) and ...

, produced by his company Inspiration Pictures, and distributed by Associated First National Pictures. The film was directed by John S. Robertson and starred

and a still teenaged Madge Evans. The film is based on a popular 1907 play by William C. deMille and Margaret Turnbull. The play was previously filmed in 1908 and

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as the First World War, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip ...

Plot

As described in a review in a film magazine, Duncan Irving, Jr. (Barthelmess), son of the village postmaster in a small Carolina town, is admitted to

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

. He is in love with Sylvia Randolph (Evans), whose family are wealthy snobs, and her cousin, Bert (Sheffield), openly insults Duncan. When Duncan is in the graduation class, Bert comes to West Point and resents being ordered about by the upper classmen, especially Duncan, who he considers his social inferior. Finally, he insults Duncan, who strikes him. Feigning blindness, he finally leaves the academy and goes on an expedition in the jungles of South America after giving Sylvia an erroneous account of the fight. Duncan, who has become an engineer, meets Sylvia, who refuses to listen to his explanation and tells him she is engaged to Bert. Word comes that Bert and his companion were lost in the jungle and probably died. To clear himself, Duncan and his pals go to try and rescue Bert. They meet all kinds of hardships, including the desertion of their guides, but are finally rescued by one of the chaps left behind with the supplies. In the meantime, they have found Bert, still unrepentant. All return to the States and when Bert tells the real truth, Duncan is reinstated and when he gets his commission he marries Sylvia at West Point.

Cast

Release

''Classmates'' was released simultaneously in 125 cities across the United States in November 1924. This was notably different from most films at the time, which were released gradually from larger to smaller markets over the course of months. ''Classmates'' was a pace maker in the industry to move toward simultaneous distribution.

Preservation

With no copies of ''Classmates'' located in any film archives,The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: ''Classmates''
/ref> it is a

lost film A lost film is a feature film, feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. ...

References

External links

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Still
at silenthollywood.com 1924 films 1924 drama films 1924 lost films 1920s American films 1920s English-language films American black-and-white films American silent feature films English-language drama films Films directed by John S. Robertson Lost American drama films Lost silent American films Silent American drama films {{1920s-silent-drama-film-stub