''The Passionate Adventure'' is a 1924 British 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 Clive Brook and Alice Joyce. The film was adapted from a novel by Frank Stayton by

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 ...

and Michael Morton, with Hitchcock also credited as assistant director to Cutts.Progressive Silent Film List: ''The Passionate Adventure''
at silentera.com ''The Passionate Adventure'' is also notable as the first film released under the aegis of

Michael Balcon Sir Michael Elias Balcon (19 May 1896 – 17 October 1977) was an English film producer known for his leadership of Ealing Studios in west London from 1938 to 1956. Under his direction, the studio became one of the most important British film ...

's newly formed

Gainsborough Pictures 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 co ...

Plot

The marriage between Adrian and Drusilla St. Clair (Brook and Joyce) has become unsatisfactory and loveless since Adrian's return from World War I, with the couple treating each other with cold distance. Seeking escape from his unfulfilled home life, Adrian takes off to the East End of London where he disguises himself as a shabby itinerant. There he meets a pretty young waif Vicky ( Marjorie Daw) and takes on the role of her unofficial protector. This does not go down well with Vicky's East End criminal element boyfriend Herb ( Victor McLaglen) who becomes increasingly suspicious and jealous about her association with Adrian, until a showdown in inevitable. Adrian uses his wits to overcome Herb's brute force, and hands him over to the police who have wanted him for some time. With Herb in custody and Vicky's safety assured, Adrian returns west to Drusilla invigorated by his East End experience and with his feelings of passion towards her evidently restored. They embrace at the bottom of the staircase, which the appreciative Drusilla starts to climb.

Cast

Reception

Walter Mycroft, reviewing the film for the ''

Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...

'', wrote that ‘For absolute skill in production and for inspiration in setting,' ''The Passionate Adventure'' 'reaches a high level, far higher than was actually entailed by the particular story Graham Cutts and his coadjutors here had to handle.'

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Passionate Adventure, The 1924 films 1924 drama films British silent feature films Films directed by Graham Cutts Gainsborough Pictures films Films set in London British black-and-white films Films based on British novels Silent British drama films 1920s British films 1920s English-language films English-language drama films

Plot

Cast

Reception

See also

References

External links