Sadie Thompson

Unfortunately, the final reel of "Sadie Thompson" has been partially lost due to the ravages of time on nitrate stock. Because of this, the final portion often uses stills to fill in the blanks. It's a less than desirable way to do the film, but there simply is no other choice unless a final reel is one day discovered and the film is pieced back together. In addition, some other portions of the film are pretty rough, but not so much that it seriously impacts watching the film.

I have already seen this story two other times, though this is the first time I've seen the silent version. While it's obvious that Gloria Swanson plays a prostitute (Sadie Thompson), like other films of the day, it's strongly implied but they never called her that or said exactly what she was--just that she was a woman of 'ill-repute' or was 'undesirable'. But, unless you are really, really young or really, really naive, it's very clear what the film is implying in this adaptation of the W. Somerset Maugham story.

The story begins with Sadie arriving on the island of Pago-Pago. On board the ship are also some moralistic reformers, the Davidsons (Lionel Barrymore and Blanche Friderici). Unfortunately for Sadie, these reformers seem to spend almost every waking moment worrying about Sadie's sex life and work hard to have her thrown off the island. At first, Sadie is contemptuous of them but later when it looks like they are about to become successful, things change very quickly. Where all this ends up you'll need to see for yourself.

I liked the acting of this film--especially Swanson's. It was rather bawdy yet very restrained (except for when it called for lots of emotion near the end)--and it easily could have been over the top. Also, although the film's in rough shape, what you do see is quite good--with a good reproduction of the tropical locale and nice camera-work. All in all, a very high quality film from start to finish. Too bad about the missing footage.

By the way, Sadie's ruggedly handsome love interest, Sgt. O'Hara, is played by the film's director, Raoul Walsh! He actually gave up acting for directing full-time after he lost an eye in an accident--shortly after completing this film.

This was the first version of the W. Somerset Maugham novel "Rain," which was remade in 1932 by the original title and again in 1953 as "Miss Sadie Thompson." Gloria Swanson is amazing in the title role as a prostitute who becomes stranded on the remote Island of Pago Pago. She flirts with a soldier (Raoul Walsh, who was the director), then seduces a respected preacher played by Lionel Barrymore. This certainly can be called one of the "pre-code" films of the 1920s/1930s, before the Hays Code was in effect. For many years the final scenes were lost, so now the restored versions use still photos and new title cards to complete the picture.

What a performance - Swanson bursts out of the screen, as Somerset Maugham's prostitute heroine trapped on a tropical island with a crusading parson and a sexy sergeant. And Lionel Barrymore as the parson and the director Raoul Walsh as the sergeant are her match. This is silent acting at its best.

Yes the piece is a little stagey and the action too confined for a silent picture, but when the photography is as brilliant as it is here - who cares? It deservedly won the first ever Oscar for cinematography.

This is a passionate and beautiful production. What a tragedy that the last few minutes have been lost. They have been reconstructed using titles and stills - but how I would have loved to have seen the scene when Barrymore rapes Swanson. It must have been breathtaking. Don't miss this film.

In this film, Swanson shows that she was one of those personalities who almost literally jumped from the screen. This is the first of two excellent film versions of Rain; the other being that of Joan Crawford.The fact that Swanson was somewhat older then Crawford adds to the greater impact of her performance, in my opinion. She offers us a world-weary prostitute who may or may not be looking to settle down; yet who still has fire in her veins. She does an outstanding job in conveying the emotions of Sadie both when she is sensuous and flirtatious at the beginning of the film; and when she undergoes a temporary change of character. Those of us who have seen Sunset Boulevard half-a-dozen times can easily see the anticipation of her bravura performance as Norma Desmond here, in Sadie Thompson. Her films after Sadie were trifles in which she had little opportunity to display any depth of character. Film history sentimentalists had to be gratified by her re-emergence in Sunset Boulevard, even though many might regard her performance there as somewhat overdone. All other components of this film are as admirable as other comments claim. However, I will put in a plug for Walter Huston in Rain, especially the brief close-up when you can see his judgmental attitude toward Sadie turn into lust. Lionel Barrymore is very good, but seems to me to be somewhat more remote from the character. The completion of the final scenes with stills and occasional bits of film are not a great barrier to enjoyment of this classic.

For those who would pigeonhole Raoul Walsh as an "action master" or "man's director", this small-focus drama with a female protagonist might seem at odds with his image. In fact, while he was a versatile director who could turn out a rousing action scene, it was the drama – particularly in the relationships between individuals – that was Walsh's greatest strength. Sadie Thompson in fact shows us his mastery of the technique in its purest form.

Walsh himself made the adaptation from the play "Rain", not as easy a task as it sounds – a play has to convey action through dialogue, while a silent film does the exact opposite. Sadie Thompson begins with a series of autograph mottos from each character, a rather clumsy way to introduce character. This is immediately followed however with a particularly smooth bit of film-making. We are given a point-of-view shot, as Swanson looks down at the group of soldiers on the shore, then we cut back to her, and the camera pulls back as she descends the gang plank. A few shots later the camera is dollying forward, following Swanson and the soldiers hovering around her. In this handful of shots we are subtly informed of Miss Thompson's profession, but also with those attention-grabbing point-of-view shots and camera movements we, the audience, are placed into the position of the characters. Walsh has drawn us into the story at this crucial establishing moment.

Considering it only really revolves around two developing relationships – that between Sadie and Tim, and that between Sadie and Davidson – the main part of the film is like a tour-de-force of different ways to shoot interaction between two people. The scenes between Swanson and Walsh are given the customary tenderness of a regular romance, with some delicate shot compositions that give it a natural, harmonious feel. The relationship between Swanson and Barrymore in contrast is full of intensity – lots of cuts, faces framed in stark close-up. What is particularly neat, is that all of the major dialogue scenes begin with a fair few title cards – getting the unavoidable wordy bits out of the way first – but then the dialogue fizzles out and the interaction continues with just the images, back and forth.

Of course, the effectiveness of the drama would be lost without great acting and, yes, this probably is Swanson's finest performance prior to Sunset Boulevard. I think Swanson was at her best when she was really allowed to let go, and put all her energy into a character, and to say she does that here would be an understatement. Lionel Barrymore is fine as the archetypal repressed Christian, a little hammy perhaps but then, he is a Barrymore. And Walsh himself absolutely acts his socks off, actually turning in the deepest performance of the picture, and the fact that his acting days were soon to be cut short is one of several tragedies regarding his career.

Speaking of tragedies, looming over Sadie Thompson is the unfortunate loss of the final reel, which has since been semi-reconstructed with stills and titles. While what we see today suffers from a very noticeable lack of a climax, the dramatic build up comes close to perfection. Considering its small scale and lack of action, Sadie Thompson was apparently a massive popular success. In his autobiography Raoul Walsh quotes several letters he apparently received from prostitutes of various nationalities which, while they may well have been fabricated or exaggerated slightly, are probably accurate at least in tone. By contrast the 1932 talkie version was a flop, despite an equally great cast, testament to Walsh's talent as a director of powerful cinematic drama.