The Scarlet Letter is a 1934 American film directed by Robert G. Vignola and based on the 1850 novel of the same name by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
The film has been preserved by the UCLA Film & Television Archive.
Plot Hester Prynne has a child out of wedlock and refuses to name the father (who is a respected citizen). For this, she is sentenced to wear a scarlet letter "A" (for adultery). Her husband is long missing and presumed lost at sea. When the husband returns and finds his wife with another man's child, he sets out to torture them. At last, the father of Hester's child reveals himself, with a letter "A" carved in his chest and dies after that.
Cast Colleen Moore as Hester Prynne Hardie Albright as Arthur Dimmesdale Henry B. Walthall as Roger Chillingworth Cora Sue Collins as Pearl Alan Hale as Bartholomew Hockings Virginia Howell as Abigail Crakstone William Kent as Sampson Goodfellow William Farnum as Gov. Bellingham Betty Blythe as Innkeeper Al O. Henderson as Master Wilson Jules Cowles as Beadle Mickey Rentschler as Digerie Crakstone Shirley Jean Rickert as Humility Crakstone Flora Finch as Faith Bartle, the Gossip Tommy Bupp as Marching Boy (uncredited) Iron Eyes Cody as Native American (uncredited)
Production
The first sound version of the story, starring former Jazz Age comedian Colleen Moore as the ill-fated Puritan adulteress, Hester Prynne, the film retained many of the silent film era players and studio sets from director Victor Seastrom’s 1926 silent adaptation starring Lillian Gish. Henry B. Walthall played Roger Chillingworth in both film versions.Malcolm, 2004: “...a superabundance of silent film personalities” were employed in the sound remake... [and] many sets in this lower-budget production seem to be borrowed from the Seastrom film...”
Under the influence of the recently re-imposed Production Code, director Vignola emphasized the guilt-ridden ordeal of the novel’s protagonists, which resonated with Hollywood censor’s preference for a depiction of "the moral failure of the central figures" as a cautionary tale, to distinguish it from the Seastrom’s decidedly romantic film adaption.Malcolm, 2004: "...this adaption, perhaps in response to the recently re-constituted Production Code, underscores the moral failure of the central sinners ...[and] serves to highlight the realism of the film’s dialogue."
It was shot in Sherman Oaks, California, and was the only film Colleen Moore ever said she made for the money. She was reportedly preparing to take her dollhouse on tour for charity, and saw the film as an opportunity to make a last film with friends.
Reception National Board of Review gave a negative review, criticizing the script and "Vignola's static, uninspired direction", but appreciated Moore's performance, considering it "the only good thing in the picture".National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, Films in Review - Volume 14, 1963, p.421
Footnotes
References Jeff Codori (2012), Colleen Moore; A Biography of the Silent Film Star, McFarland Publishing,(Print , EBook ). Colleen Moore research/history project page Malcolm, Paul. 2004. The Scarlet Letter, 1926. UCLA Film and Television Archive: 12th Festival of Preservation, July 22-August 21, 2004. Guest festival guide. Malcolm, Paul. 2004. The Scarlet Letter, 1934. UCLA Film and Television Archive: 12th Festival of Preservation, July 22-August 21, 2004. Guest festival guide.
External links