''Their Own Desire'' is a 1929 American
pre-Code
Pre-Code Hollywood was an era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry that occurred between the widespread adoption of sound in film in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship gui ...
romantic drama film
Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...
directed by
E. Mason Hopper and starring
Norma Shearer
Edith Norma Shearer (August 11, 1902June 12, 1983) was a Canadian-American actress who was active on film from 1919 through 1942. Shearer often played spunky, sexually liberated women. She appeared in adaptations of Noël Coward, Eugene O'Neill, ...
,
Belle Bennett,
Lewis Stone
Lewis Shepard Stone (November 15, 1879 – September 12, 1953) was an American film actor. He spent 29 years as a contract player at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and was best known for his portrayal of Judge James Hardy in the studio's popular '' Andy ...
,
Robert Montgomery, and Helene Millard. The film was adapted by
James Forbes and
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 ...
from the novel by Sarita Fuller (pseudonym of
Beulah Marie Dix); Lucille Newmark wrote the titles.
It is also the last MGM film in the 1920s. Shearer was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Actress
The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 1st Academy Awards to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a lead ...
, but lost to herself for ''
The Divorcee''.
Premise
A young woman is upset by the knowledge that her father is divorcing her mother in order to marry another woman. Her own feelings change, however, when she falls in love with a young man who turns out to be the son of her father's new love.
Cast
*
Norma Shearer
Edith Norma Shearer (August 11, 1902June 12, 1983) was a Canadian-American actress who was active on film from 1919 through 1942. Shearer often played spunky, sexually liberated women. She appeared in adaptations of Noël Coward, Eugene O'Neill, ...
as Lucia 'Lally' Marlett
*
Belle Bennett as Harriet Marlett
*
Lewis Stone
Lewis Shepard Stone (November 15, 1879 – September 12, 1953) was an American film actor. He spent 29 years as a contract player at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and was best known for his portrayal of Judge James Hardy in the studio's popular '' Andy ...
as Henry Marlett
*
Robert Montgomery as John Douglas Cheever
*
Helene Millard as Beth Cheever
*
Cecil Cunningham as Aunt Caroline Elrick
*
Henry Hebert as Uncle Nate Elrick
*
Mary Doran as Suzanne Elrick
*
June Nash as Mildred Elrick
*
Joseph E. Bernard
Joseph E. Bernard (June 1, 1880 – October 18, 1958) was an American character actor of the 1930s and 1940s.
Biography
Bernard was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, to James Alfred Bernard and Katherine Bernard (née Tuite). He had a younger brot ...
as Doctor (uncredited)
*
Bess Flowers
Bess Flowers (November 23, 1898 – July 28, 1984) was an American actress best known for her work as an extra in hundreds of films. She was known as "The Queen of the Hollywood Extras," appearing in more than 350 feature films and numerous ...
as Miriam, a Polo Player / Snooty Dinner Guest (uncredited)
*
Isabelle Keith as Isabelle, a Polo Player / Snooty Dinner Guest (uncredited)
*
Kane Richmond as Man at the Resort (uncredited)
*
Oscar Rudolph as Man at the Resort (uncredited)
Production
The pool scenes in which John Cheever meets Lally Marlett for the first time were filmed at
the Norconian Resort Supreme competition diving and swimming pools. While the diving boards and three diving platforms are long gone, the two Norconian pools are still intact, though worse for wear as of 2008, in the middle of what is now the
California Rehabilitation Center
California Rehabilitation Center (CRC) is a state prison located in Norco, Riverside County, California. The prison is sometimes referenced as "Norco" or "Norco Prison".
Facilities
CRC has and is located next to the Naval Surface Warfare Ce ...
in
Norco, California
Norco is a city in northwestern Riverside County, California, United States. Located roughly inland from the Pacific Ocean, Norco is known as "Horsetown, USA" and prides itself on being a "horse community". The area is dotted with corrals, far ...
.
See also
*
List of early sound feature films (1926–1929)
This is a list of early pre-recorded sound and part or full talking feature films made in the United States and Europe during the transition from silent film to sound film, sound, between 1926 and 1929. During this time a variety of recording syst ...
References
External links
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*
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Shearer vs. Shearer: ''The Divorcee'' (1930) and ''Their Own Desire'' (1929)with stills
1929 films
American black-and-white films
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
American romantic drama films
Films directed by E. Mason Hopper
1929 romantic drama films
Films with screenplays by Frances Marion
1920s English-language films
1920s American films
English-language romantic drama films
{{1920s-romantic-drama-film-stub