[go: up one dir, main page]

    Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsEmmysSan Diego Comic-ConSummer Watch GuideToronto Int'l Film FestivalSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayMost popular celebsCelebrity news
    Help centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign in
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

La Voie lumineuse

Original title: The Great White Way
  • 1924
  • 1h 40m
YOUR RATING
Anita Stewart in La Voie lumineuse (1924)
ComedyRomance

Jack Murray, a press agent, tries to make popular his two clients--Joe Cain, a prizefighter, and Mabel Vandergrift, a follies dancer--by linking their names romantically. His plan succeeds w... Read allJack Murray, a press agent, tries to make popular his two clients--Joe Cain, a prizefighter, and Mabel Vandergrift, a follies dancer--by linking their names romantically. His plan succeeds when they actually fall in love. However, Morton, the jealous owner of the show, threatens ... Read allJack Murray, a press agent, tries to make popular his two clients--Joe Cain, a prizefighter, and Mabel Vandergrift, a follies dancer--by linking their names romantically. His plan succeeds when they actually fall in love. However, Morton, the jealous owner of the show, threatens to close it if Mabel does not renounce Joe. To save the show and his own reputation, Joe b... Read all

  • Director
    • E. Mason Hopper
  • Writers
    • Larry Doyle
    • Luther Reed
    • H.C. Witwer
  • Stars
    • Anita Stewart
    • Tom Lewis
    • T. Roy Barnes
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • E. Mason Hopper
    • Writers
      • Larry Doyle
      • Luther Reed
      • H.C. Witwer
    • Stars
      • Anita Stewart
      • Tom Lewis
      • T. Roy Barnes
    • 1User review
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 wins total

    Photos2

    View Poster
    View Poster

    Top cast35

    Edit
    Anita Stewart
    Anita Stewart
    • Mabel Vandegrift
    Tom Lewis
    • Duke Sullivan
    T. Roy Barnes
    T. Roy Barnes
    • Jack Murray
    Oscar Shaw
    Oscar Shaw
    • Joe Cain
    Dore Davidson
    • Adolph Blum
    Harry Watson
    Harry Watson
    • City Editor
    Hal Forde
    Hal Forde
    • Brock Morton
    Olin Howland
    Olin Howland
    • Stubbs
    • (as Olin Howlin)
    Pete Hartley
    • English boxing champion
    Stanley Forde
    • Joe's Father
    Jimmy Stone
    • Pete Hartley
    Johnny Gallagher
    • Referee
    Johnny Hennessey
    • Cain's Second
    Billy Gould
    • Stone's Second
    Frank Wunderlee
    • McIntyre
    • (as Frank Wunderley)
    Joe Humphries
    • Announcer
    Jerry Peterson
    • Smoke
    Arthur 'Bugs' Baer
    • Self
    • (as 'Bugs' Baer)
    • Director
      • E. Mason Hopper
    • Writers
      • Larry Doyle
      • Luther Reed
      • H.C. Witwer
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews1

    Featured reviews

    5F Gwynplaine MacIntyre

    Flyweight actor in lightweight story.

    The thoroughfare in the title of 'The Great White Way' is, of course, Broadway ... which came into its own in 1904 with the opening of Manhattan's subway system. I was eager to see this film, as it includes brief appearances by several prominent newspapermen and society figures of this period. Among others, we see cartoonists Winsor McCay, George McManus, Billy DeBeck and Harry Hershfield; the latter was at this time author and illustrator of the popular comic strip 'Abie the Agent', but he eventually had a more successful career as a toastmaster. Also seen here are impresario Tex Rickard, journalists Arthur Brisbane and Nell Brinkley, humour columnist Bugs Baer, author Irvin S. Cobb and Damon Runyon. I hope I don't have to tell you who Damon Runyon was.

    I viewed an incomplete print of 'The Great White Way' which had some scenes missing. Apparently the movie attempts to tell three different stories, each of which reflects some aspect of Broadway's heartbeat. The first story is about a fire in the theatrical district, the second about a horse race ... held nowhere near Broadway, but involving many Broadway characters as bettors, bookmakers or touts. Most of the missing footage was from these two sequences.

    The third sequence is about a prizefighter with dreams of attaining the championship. And here's where things get odd. For one thing, the fighter is merely a welterweight. Except for middleweight Sugar Ray Robinson, it seems to me that American fight fans have never much cared about boxers in the lower weight classes: the heavyweight gets all the attention (and money). So, why is this film about a welterweight?

    The next oddity is the casting of that role. The welterweight contender, Joe Cain (great name!), is played by Oscar Shaw. Marx Brothers fans may recall that Oscar Shaw and Mary Eaton played the lovers in 'The Coconuts' ... and were the only film actors ever to get billed above the Marx Brothers! Oscar Shaw was a weedy song-and-dance man, somewhat effete: approximately the American equivalent of Ian Carmichael. Shaw isn't effeminate, but he's not remotely macho, and is a bizarre choice for this role.

    Wait: it gets more confusing. The fictional Joe Cain is supposed to have a championship fight with the current title-holder, who has come to New York City for the title bout all the way from England. This character (presumably also fictional) is unnamed in the footage I saw, but he's played by Pete Hartley ... a genuine welterweight contender of this time. The confusion gets in because Hartley shows up on both ends of the cast list. Real-life boxer Pete Hartley appears in this movie as a fictional character, while a burly actor named Jimmy Stone shows up in the same sequences to portray real-life boxer Pete Hartley! Huh? Meanwhile, I couldn't help wondering about that name Jimmy Stone. Two years after this movie was made, Damon Runyon participated in another boxing movie -- 'Oh, Baby!' -- about a fictional pugilist named Jim Stone. Is there some sort of in-joke being perpetrated here?

    Whatever the intentions were, when the actors strip off for the boxing match, it's clear that Pete Hartley (the real one) is in much better shape than Oscar Shaw. The actors must struggle ludicrously to create the impression that these two fighters are equally matched.

    T. Roy Barnes supplies some inept comedy relief. I doubt that this movie would have made more sense if I'd screened a complete print. As it stands, I'll rate it only one point for coherence, but 5 out of 10 for the rare glimpses of major figures from American journalism.

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Originally meant as a starring vehicle for Marion Davies.
    • Connections
      Remade as Caïn et Mabel (1936)

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 11, 1924 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • None
    • Also known as
      • Cain and Mabel
    • Production company
      • Cosmopolitan Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $465,365
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 40m(100 min)
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Silent
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb App
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.