''Stella Dallas'' is a 1925 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 ...

that was produced by

Samuel Goldwyn Samuel Goldwyn (; born Szmuel Gelbfisz; ; July 1879 (most likely; claimed to be August 27, 1882) January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer and pioneer in the American film industry, who produce ...

, adapted by

Frances Marion Frances Marion (born Marion Benson Owens; November 18, 1888 – May 12, 1973) was an American screenwriter, director, journalist and author often cited as one of the most renowned female screenwriters of the 20th century alongside June Mathis a ...

, and directed by Henry King. The film stars

Ronald Colman Ronald Charles Colman (9 February 1891 – 19 May 1958) was an English-born actor who started his career in theatre and silent film in his native country, then emigrated to the United States where he had a highly successful Cinema of the United ...

Belle Bennett Ara Belle Bennett (April 22, 1891 – November 4, 1932) was a stage and screen actress who started her career as a child as a circus performer. She later performed in theater and films. Early life and career Bennett was born in Milaca, Minnes ...

, Lois Moran, Alice Joyce,

Jean Hersholt Jean Pierre Carl Buron (12 July 1886 – 2 June 1956), known professionally as Jean Hersholt, was a Danish-American actor. He is most famous for starring on the CBS radio series '' Dr. Christian'' from 1937–1954, which later inspired a TV se ...

, and

Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Douglas Elton Fairbanks Jr. (December 9, 1909 – May 7, 2000) was an American actor, producer, and decorated naval officer of World War II. He is best-known for starring in such films as '' The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1937), '' Gunga Din'' (1939), ...

''Stella Dallas'' at The Alice Joyce Website, by Greta De Groat
/ref> Prints of the film survive in several film archives. This was the first

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

adaptation of the 1923 novel '' Stella Dallas'' by

Olive Higgins Prouty Olive Higgins Prouty (January 10, 1882 – March 24, 1974) was an American novelist and poet, best known for her 1923 novel ''Stella Dallas (novel), Stella Dallas'' and her pioneering consideration of psychotherapy in her 1941 novel ''Now, Voyag ...

. Subsequent film versions were '' Stella Dallas'' (1937) and '' Stella'' (1990).

Plot

As described in a review in a 1925 film magazine, upon the suicide of his father who has embezzled funds, Stephen Dallas (Colman), reared in luxury, forsakes his sweetheart Helen (Joyce) and hides in a mill town. Lonely, he succumbs to the blandishments of Stella (Bennett). For a while, their married life is happy, and a baby girl is born. Stella, however, never rises to Stephen's social level. She dresses gaudily, her ideas and tastes are crude, and her boon companion is a horseman of the coarse type. Stephen finally leaves her but agrees she can keep their child, Laurel. Years pass. Laurel (Moran) grows up. Stella comes to the realization that she is a drag on Laurel who takes after her father. Stifling her pride she agrees to a divorce so that Stephen can marry Helen, now a widow, to provide Laurel with a proper home and "mother," but Laurel refuses to leave her own mother. Stella, deciding that no sacrifice is too great for her daughter's happiness, hunts for her friend Ed (Hersholt), now a drunkard, and tells Laurel she is going to marry him. She sends her to visit her father and claims that she and Ed are going away for a year. Laurel resumes her romance with a fine young fellow and marries him, and Stella in the rain outside watches the ceremony and leaves weeping but happy that her sacrifice has not been in vain.

Cast

References

External links

* * * * *
Stills
at Alice Joyce, stanford.edu
United Artists Pressbook
on the Internet Archive
''Stella Dallas'' program notes for 2012 San Francisco Silent Film Festival
{{Authority control 1925 films 1925 drama films American silent feature films Silent American drama films American black-and-white films 1920s English-language films Films about social class Films directed by Henry King Films with screenplays by Frances Marion Samuel Goldwyn Productions films United Artists films 1920s American films Surviving American silent films