''The Blackguard'' () is a 1925 British-German 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 ...

directed by

Graham Cutts John Henry Graham Cutts (1884 – 7 February 1958), known as Graham Cutts, was a British film director, one of the leading British directors in the 1920s. His fellow director A. V. Bramble believed that Gainsborough Pictures had been built ...

and starring

Jane Novak Jane Novak (born Johana Barbara Novak; January 12, 1896 – February 3, 1990) was an United States of America, American actress of the silent film era. Background Jane Novak was born Johana Barbara Novak in St. Louis, Missouri to Bohemian immigr ...

Walter Rilla Walter Rilla (22 August 1894 – 21 November 1980) was a German film actor of Jewish descent. Siegbert Salomon Prawer, ''Between Two Worlds: The Jewish Presence in German and Austrian Film, 1910-1933'', Berghahn Books (2007), pg. 213 He app ...

, and Frank Stanmore.Progressive Silent Film List: ''The Blackguard''
at silentera.com The film is set against the backdrop of the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

during which a violinist saves a princess from execution.

Plot

As described in a film magazine review, Michael Caviol, violinist, after he has been hit on the head sees visions in which he is dominated by a god-like creature, Maliol, who promises him success so long as he loves nothing but his art. He becomes famous but shuns the love of woman until he loses his heart to the Russian princess Marie Idourska. The Revolution breaks out, and the princess is threatened with death. Michael finds the leader to be Adrian Levenski, his former music master. He obtains two passports from Levenski and effects Marie's escape. Levenski and Michael fight and the latter is thrown into a flaming building, escaping but being badly burned in the process. While praying in a church, Marie enters and kneels beside him, now no longer a princess but still his love.

Cast

Production

The film was a co-production between

Gainsborough Studios Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, east London. Gainsborough Studios was active between 1924 and 1951. The comp ...

and UFA initiating a decade-long series of co-productions which ended with the rise of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

in the 1930s. The film was based on the 1923 novel ''

The Blackguard ''The Blackguard'' () is a 1925 British-German silent drama film directed by Graham Cutts and starring Jane Novak, Walter Rilla, and Frank Stanmore.

'' by Raymond Paton, and shot at

Studio Babelsberg Babelsberg Film Studio () (also known as Studio Babelsberg), located in Potsdam-Babelsberg outside Berlin, Germany, is the oldest large-scale film studio in the world, producing films since 1912. With a total area of about and a studio area of a ...

, in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

near

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, the first time a Gainsborough film was shot abroad. The film was one of a number of films made in this genre during the 1920s, the most successful of which was the American film ''

The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg ''The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg'', also known as ''The Student Prince'' and ''Old Heidelberg'', is a 1927 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer silent drama film based on the 1901 play '' Old Heidelberg'' by Wilhelm Meyer-Förster. It was directed by Er ...

'' (1927).Cook p. 36 While working on the film,

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

was able to study several films being made nearby, including '' The Last Laugh'' (1924) by

F. W. Murnau Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau (born Friedrich Wilhelm Plumpe; December 28, 1888March 11, 1931) was a German film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is regarded as one of cinema's most influential filmmakers for his work in the silent era. An e ...

, which were a major influence on his later work.

Preservation

Prints of ''The Blackguard'' are located in several film archives and it has been released on dvd.

References

Bibliography

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External links

*
''The Blackguard''
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

Screenonline Screenonline is a website about the history of British film, television and social history as documented by film and television. The project has been developed by the British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and tele ...

1925 films 1925 drama films Silent British drama films Silent German drama films Films of the Weimar Republic British silent feature films German silent feature films Films directed by Graham Cutts Films based on British novels British black-and-white films German black-and-white films Films produced by Erich Pommer Russian Revolution films Films shot at Babelsberg Studios UFA GmbH films 1920s British films 1920s German films {{1920s-Germany-silent-drama-film-stub