''The Woman Disputed'' is a 1928 American synchronized sound film. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using both the sound-on-disc and sound-on-film process. The plot draws in part on the 1880 short story " Boule de Suif" by French writer

Guy de Maupassant Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ; ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, celebrated as a master of the short story, as well as a representative of the naturalist school, depicting human lives, destinies and s ...

Norma Talmadge Norma Marie Talmadge (May 2, 1894 – December 24, 1957) was an American actress and film producer of the silent film, silent era. A major box-office draw for more than a decade, her career reached a peak in the early 1920s, when she ranked among ...

stars as a good-hearted Austrian

prostitute Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-pe ...

drawn into a romantic triangle on the eve of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Based on a

Denison Clift Denison Clift (1885–1961) was an American playwright, novelist, screenwriter and film director. He directed in both America and Great Britain, mainly during the Silent era, Silent Era. Biography Clift was educated at Stanford University. He be ...

play, the nationalities of the characters had to be adjusted to satisfy official complaints registered with the MPPDA from the German government. This film would be the last film Talmadge made without audible dialogue. After this film was completed she separated from her husband and producer Schenck. Talmadge would spend much of the following year on vocal lessons in preparation for her first talking picture.''Silent Stars'' By Jeanine Basinger, page 156 Talmadge appeared in two talking films. The lackluster response to them forced her into an early retirement.

Cast

as Mary Ann Wagner *

Gilbert Roland Luis Antonio Dámaso de Alonso (December 11, 1905 – May 15, 1994), known professionally as Gilbert Roland, was a Mexican-born American film and television actor whose career spanned seven decades from the 1920s until the 1980s. He was twice no ...

as Paul Hartman * Arnold Kent as Nika Turgenov * Boris de Fast as Passerby *

Michael Vavitch Mikhail Vavich () was a Russian actor, operetta and singer. Biography Mikhail first performed in 1905 on stage at St. Petersburg in a private operetta of Petr Tumpakov. He received recognition in 1906 after performing the role of the Viscount Ca ...

as Father Roche *

Gustav von Seyffertitz Gustav von Seyffertitz (4 August 1862 – 25 December 1943) was a German film actor and director. He settled in the United States. He was born in Haimhausen, Bavaria, and died in Los Angeles, California, aged 81. Biography Gustav von Seyfferti ...

as Otto Krueger *

Gladys Brockwell Gladys Brockwell (née Lindeman; September 26, 1894 – July 2, 1929) was an American actress whose career began during the silent film era. Early life and career Brockwell was born Gladys Lindeman in Brooklyn, New York, on September 26, 1894. ...

as Countess * Nicholas Soussanin as Count

Music

The film featured a theme song entitled "Woman Disputed (I Love You)" which was written by Bernie Grossman and Edward Ward.

Preservation

The film is extant at 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 ...

film archive, and has been exhibited for audiences in recent years.

References

External links

* *
original New York Times review
1928 films 1928 romantic drama films 1920s American films 1920s English-language films American black-and-white films American silent feature films English-language romantic drama films Films about prostitution in Austria Films based on Boule de Suif Films directed by Henry King Films directed by Sam Taylor Films produced by Joseph M. Schenck Films set in the 1910s Films set in Austria Films set in Poland Films set in Ukraine Silent American romantic drama films Surviving American silent films Synchronized sound films Transitional sound films United Artists films World War I films set on the Eastern Front {{1920s-romantic-drama-film-stub

Cast

Music

Preservation

See also

References

External links