''His Captive Woman'' is a 1929 American sound

part-talkie A part-talkie is a sound film that includes at least some "talking sequences" or sections with audible dialogue. The remainder of the film is provided with a synchronized musical score with sound effects. These films more often than not contain ...

part-talking

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

George Fitzmaurice George Fitzmaurice (13 February 1885 – 13 June 1940) was a French-born film director and Film producer, producer. Career Fitzmaurice's career first started as a set designer on stage. Beginning in 1914, and continuing until his death in 1940 ...

and starring

Milton Sills Milton George Gustavus Sills (January 12, 1882 – September 15, 1930) was an American stage and film actor of the early twentieth century. Biography Sills was born in Chicago, Illinois, into a wealthy family. He was the son of William Henr ...

and

Dorothy Mackaill Dorothy Mackaill (March 4, 1903 – August 12, 1990) was a British-American actress, most active during the silent-film era and into the pre-Code era of the early 1930s. Early life Mackaill was born at 20 Newstead Street in the Dukeries, Kin ...

. In addition to sequences with audible dialogue or talking sequences, the film features a synchronized musical score and sound effects along with English intertitles. According to the film review in Variety, 50 percent of the total running time featured dialogue. These talking sequences all took place during the courtroom scenes in the picture. The soundtrack was recorded using the

Vitaphone Vitaphone was a sound film system used for feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects made by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National Pictures, First National from 1926 to 1931. Vitaphone is the last major analog sound-on-disc sys ...

sound-on-disc system. This film is "based on the short story "Changeling" by Donn Byrne in ''Changeling and Other Stories'' (New York, 1923)." It was produced and distributed by

First National Pictures First National Pictures was an American motion picture production and distribution company. It was founded in 1917 as First National Exhibitors' Circuit, Inc., an association of independent theatre owners in the United States, and became the count ...

which was already a subsidiary of the Warner Brothers studios. Both Mackaill and Sills as well as director Fitzmaurice had worked together on the previous year's ''

The Barker ''The Barker'' is a 1928 American part-talkie pre-Code romantic drama film produced and released by First National Pictures, a subsidiary of Warner Bros., acquired in September 1928. The film was directed by George Fitzmaurice and stars Mil ...

''.

Cast

as Officer Thomas McCarthy *

as Anna Janssen *

Gladden James Gladden James (February 26, 1888 – August 28, 1948) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 180 films between 1911 and 1946. He was born in Zanesville, Ohio and died in Hollywood, California, from leukemia. Family In 1914 h ...

as Alastair De Vries *

Jed Prouty Jed Prouty (born Clarence Gordon Prouty; April 6, 1879 – May 10, 1956) was an American film actor. Biography Born as Clarence Gordon Prouty in Boston, Massachusetts, Prouty was a vaudeville performer before becoming a film actor. Mostly appe ...

as Fatty Fargo *

Sidney Bracey Sidney Bracey (born Sidney Bracy; 18 December 1877 – 5 August 1942) was an Australian-born American actor. Born into an acting family, he began a stage career in Australia, on Broadway and in Britain usually as leading men in musicals and ...

as Means *

Gertrude Howard Gertrude Howard (October 13, 1892 – September 30, 1934) was an American actress of the silent film, silent and early sound film eras. Biography Born in 1892, Howard performed in the chorus of ''The Wife Hunters'' (1911) on Broadway. She broke ...

as Lavoris Smythe *

Marion Byron Marion Byron (born Miriam Bilenkin; 1911 – 1985) was an American silent film actress and comedian. Early years Born in Dayton, Ohio, Byron was one of five daughters of Louis and Bertha Bilenkin. Career She made her first stage appearan ...

as Baby Meyers *

George Fawcett George Fawcett (August 25, 1860 – June 6, 1939) was an American stage and film actor of the silent era. Biography Born in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1860, Fawcett graduated from the University of Virginia. His initial inclination was to be a ...

as Howard Donegan *William Holden as The Court Judge *

Frank Reicher Frank Reicher (born Franz Reichert; December 2, 1875 – January 19, 1965) was a German-born American actor, director and producer. He is best known for playing Captain Englehorn in the 1933 film ''King Kong''. Early life Reicher was born in M ...

as The District Attorney *August Tollaire as The Governor of the Island

Preservation

Prints of ''His Captive Woman'' are maintained in 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 ...

and reportedly in the

Gosfilmofond Gosfilmofond is a state film archive in Russia. It is the main film archive of the Russian Federation and a member of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF). It is a state cultural institution — curator of films collection and ot ...

Archive.The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: ''His Captive Woman''
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References

External links

* 1929 films First National Pictures films Films based on short fiction Films directed by George Fitzmaurice American drama films 1929 drama films American black-and-white films 1920s English-language films 1920s American films Part-talkie films {{1920s-drama-film-stub

Cast

Preservation

See also

References

External links