Three Faces East (1930 film)
Three Faces East | |
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![]() theatrical releaseposter | |
Directed by | Roy Del Ruth |
Written by | Arthur Caesar Oliver H. P. Garrett |
Based on | Three Faces East (play) by Anthony Paul Kelly |
Produced by | Daryl Zanuck |
Starring | Constance Bennett |
Cinematography | Barney McGill |
Edited by | William Holmes |
Music by | Paul Lamkoff |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. |
Release date |
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Running time | 71 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Three Faces East is a 1930 American Pre-Code film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Constance Bennett and Erich von Stroheim. Produced by Daryl Zanuck and released by Warner Brothers it is based on a 1918 Broadway play about World War I spies, Three Faces East.[1] It was filmed as a silent in 1926.[2] A later remake starred Boris Karloff and Margaret Lindsay in British Intelligence.
Plot
The story takes place during World War I. The action opens on a French battlefield. After meeting with German spy Schiller Blacher (Erich von Stroheim), Z-1 (Constance Bennett) is sent on a mission to England. The action then moves into the London home of Sir Winston Chamberlain (William Holden- no relation to the 1950s star of the same name). Sir Winston does not know that his supposedly faithful butler, Vardar, is actually Blacher. When Z-1, as Frances Hawtree, arrives at the home, Vardar, who is in love with her, believes her to be a loyal German agent, but things turn out otherwise when she prevents him from sending a stolen code back to Germany and thus reveals her true allegiance.
Cast
- Constance Bennett as Frances Hawtree/Z-1
- Erich von Stroheim as Valdar/Schiller Blecher
- Anthony Bushell as Captain Arthur Chamberlain
- William Holden as Sir Winston Chamberlain
- William Courtenay as Mr. Yates
- Crauford Kent as General Hewlett
- Charlotte Walker as Catherine, Lady Chamberlain
- Ullrich Haupt as Colonel
- Paul Panzer as "Kirsch" the Decoy
- Wilhelm von Brincken as Captain Kugler
Preservation
The film survived complete. It was transferred into a 16mm film by Associated Artists Productions in 1956-1958 and shown on television. A 16mm copy is housed at the Wisconsin Center for Film & Theater Research.[3] Another print exists at the Library of Congress.[4]
References
- ^ Three Faces East as produced on Broadway at the Cohan and Harris Theatre and the Longacre Theatre respectively, beginning August 13, 1918, 335 performances, imdb.com; accessed August 10, 2015.
- ^ The American Film Institute Catalog Feature Films: 1921-30 by The American Film Institute, copyright 1971
- ^ Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research; Feature Film Database:Three Faces East..Retrieved July 19, 2018
- ^ Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress, by The American film Institute, c. 1978
External links
- 1930 films
- 1930s spy drama films
- American films
- American spy drama films
- American black-and-white films
- American films based on plays
- Films directed by Roy Del Ruth
- Films made before the MPAA Production Code
- Films produced by Darryl F. Zanuck
- Films set in England
- World War I spy films
- 1930 drama films
- 1930s American film stubs