The Yellow Ticket
| The Yellow Ticket | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Raoul Walsh |
| Written by | Guy Bolton Jules Furthman Michael Morton |
| Produced by | Raoul Walsh |
| Starring | Elissa Landi Lionel Barrymore Laurence Olivier |
| Cinematography | James Wong Howe |
| Edited by | Jack Murray |
| Music by | Carli Elinor R.H. Bassett Hugo Friedhofer |
| Distributed by | Fox Film Corporation |
Release date |
|
Running time | 88 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Yellow Ticket is a 1931 pre-Code American drama film based on the 1914 play of the same name by Michael Morton, produced by the Fox Film Corporation and directed by Raoul Walsh. The film starred Elissa Landi, Lionel Barrymore and featured Boris Karloff. The film is also noted for its brief glimpse of nudity.
The play was produced in 1914 on Broadway; it starred Lionel's younger brother John Barrymore and Florence Reed. The stage version played between 20 January and June 1914.[1] The play was previously made into an American film The Yellow Passport in 1916 and a German film Der Gelbe Schein in 1918.[2]
Plot
When martial law is declared in Russia, all Jews are restricted to their villages. The authorities are unsympathetic to Marya (Elissa Landi) when she wants to travel to see her dying father. Marya learns that a card, called "the yellow ticket", is issued to prostitutes and allows them to travel freely.
Marya gets a yellow ticket. In St. Petersburg, Baron Andrey (Lionel Barrymore), a corrupt police official, prevents his lecherous nephew, Captain Nikolai, from forcing himself on Marya.
She meets Julian (Laurence Olivier), a British journalist, and tells him about injustices the government has kept him from learning about, including the yellow ticket.
When Julian's articles are published, Andrey, a womanizer, guesses that Marya has been giving him information.
Cast
- Elissa Landi as Marya Kalish
- Lionel Barrymore as Baron Igor Andrey
- Laurence Olivier as Julian Rolfe
- Walter Byron as Count Nikolai
- Arnold Korff as Grandfather Kalish
- Mischa Auer as Melchior
- Edwin Maxwell as Police Agent
- Rita La Roy as Fania Rubinstein
- Sarah Padden as Mother Kalish
- Boris Karloff as Orderly
See also
- Boris Karloff filmography
- Laurence Olivier on stage and screen
- The Yellow Passport a 1916 film based on the same play
- Der Gelbe Schein, a 1918 film (English titles The Yellow Ticket and The Devil's Pawn) with Pola Negri
- The Black Pass, (Czarna ksiazeczka),[3] a 1915 lost short by Aleksander Hertz with Pola Negri
