The Woman in White (1929 film)

The Woman in White
Directed by	Herbert Wilcox
Written by	Robert Cullen Herbert Wilcox
Based on	The Woman in White 1860 novel by Wilkie Collins
Produced by	Herbert Wilcox
Starring	Blanche Sweet Haddon Mason Cecil Humphreys Louise Prussing
Cinematography	David Kesson
Edited by	Harry Chandlee
Production company	British & Dominions Film Corporation
Distributed by	Woolf & Freedman Film Service
Release dates	January 1929 (1929-01) (UK) 24 May 1929 (1929-05-24) (US)
Running time	67 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Languages	Silent English intertitles

The Woman in White is a 1929 British silent mystery film directed by Herbert Wilcox (whose main career was as a producer) and starring Blanche Sweet, Haddon Mason and Cecil Humphreys. It was written by Robert Cullen and Herbert Wilcox, based on the 1859 mystery novel The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins.

The film was made at Cricklewood Studios in London and was the first British film version of the novel. Some sources disagree on whether the film was actually made in England or in Scotland, however.

Plot

A recently married heiress named Laura Fairlie keeps seeing visions of a woman in white around her estate. Laura is unaware that her husband Sir Percival Glyde is plotting to steal her inheritance. Her sister Marion learns of the plot, but falls ill before she can warn Laura. When Marion recovers from her illness, she learns that Laura has died and has been buried. Laura's old boyfriend Walter Hartwright discovers however that Laura isn't really dead. It seems Laura had a lookalike (the woman in white) who actually died, and Laura's husband had Laura committed to an insane asylum and pretended that it was she who died.

Cast

• Blanche Sweet - Laura Fairlie / Anne (a dual role)
• Haddon Mason - Walter Hartwright
• Cecil Humphreys - Sir Percival Glyde
• Louise Prussing - Marion Halcombe
• Frank Perfitt - Count Fosco
• Minna Grey - Countess Fosco

Production

The film's art direction was by Clifford Pember. Blanche Sweet played the dual role of both Laura (the heiress) and her lookalike (the woman in white).

Other Versions

Several silent versions were made, one in 1912 and one by Fox in 1917 entitled Tangled Lives. Another 1917 silent version was filmed by Thanhouser and starred Florence La Badie, which still survives in the Library of Congress. It was remade again in England in 1940 as a horror film called Crimes at the Dark House (starring Tod Slaughter), and remade yet again in 1948.

Bibliography

• Low, Rachael. History of the British Film, 1918-1929. George Allen & Unwin, 1971.
• Wood, Linda. British Films, 1927-1939. British Film Institute, 1986.

External links

• The Woman in White at IMDb
• allrovi/synopsis