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Lonesome (1928)

Lonesome

1928

  • Universal Pictures
  • Directed by Pál Fejös
  • Scenario by Edward T. Lowe, Tom Reed; Titles by Tom Reed
  • Starring Barbara Kent, Glenn Tryon, Eddie Phillips, Andy Devine

Synopsis

A boy (Tryon) and girl (Kent) live alone in New York City. Neither of them has anybody. They meet on the way to Coney Island and enjoy a day together there. Chance events separate them and each goes home in despair. It turns out that they live next door in the same apartment building and a song on the record player (Irving Berlin's Always) brings them back together.

Discussion

Director Pál Fejös (commonly known as Paul Fejos) had an extraordinary career, which included documentary filmmaking and archaeology. He made only four commercial movies in Hollywood. Lonesome premiered at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood. As with many late silent films, it had a soundtrack with music and effects, as well as tacked-on talking scenes. Fejös did not direct these dialogue sequences, which were added to the film in the wake of The Jazz Singer (1927).

TCM Film Festival, 2012

Lonesome was shown at the TCM Classic Film Festival in 2012 as part of the Discoveries theme, signifying little-known or forgotten films worth rediscovering. Jared Case, Head of Collection Information at Eastman House, was featured as a guest speaker. Case talked about the restoration of the film. Archivist Henri Langlois of the Cinémathèque Française had an original print in French titled Solitude, which was repatriated to America. The first restoration, done in the 1970s, was an untinted black-and-white version without a soundtrack. In 1994 hand-tinted color and English intertitles were added; this version premiered at the Telluride Film Festival. In 2010 the soundtrack was restored. The film is now available on DVD as part of the Criterion Collection.

Further Reading

TCM Classic Film Festival, 2012

Great American Films, Part II: 1921-1929