The Private Life of Helen of Troy
The Private Life of Helen of Troy is a 1927 American silent film about Helen of Troy based on the 1925 novel of the same name by John Erskine, and adapted to screen by Gerald Duffy. The film was directed by Alexander Korda and starred María Corda as Helen, Lewis Stone as Menelaus, and Ricardo Cortez as Paris.
The Private Life of Helen of Troy | |
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Directed by | Alexander Korda |
Written by | John Erskine (novel) Gerald C. Duffy (intertitles) Ralph Spence (intertitles) Casey Robinson (intertitles) |
Produced by | Richard A. Rowland |
Starring | María Corda Lewis Stone Ricardo Cortez |
Cinematography | Lee Garmes Sidney Hickox |
Edited by | Harold Young |
Music by | Carl Edouarde Cecil Copping (NYC premiere, uncredited) |
Distributed by | First National Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 57 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent |
Coming at the end of the silent film era, it was nominated for an Academy Award in 1929, the year of the Awards' inception, in the category of Best Title Writing. Duffy died on June 25, 1928, and was the first person to be posthumously nominated for an Academy Award.[1]
That same year, the first "talkie", The Jazz Singer, received an honorary award for introducing sound to film, and the category for which The Private Life of Helen of Troy was nominated was dropped by the second Academy Awards.
Two sections from the beginning and end, running about 27–30 minutes in total, are reportedly all that survive of The Private Life of Helen of Troy; they are preserved by the British Film Institute.[2][3]
Cast
- María Corda - Helen
- Lewis Stone - Menelaus
- Ricardo Cortez - Paris
- George Fawcett - Eteoneus
- Alice White - Adraste
- Bill Elliott - Telemachus
- Tom O'Brien - Ulysses
- Bert Sprotte - Achilles
- Mario Carillo - Ajax
- Charles Puffy - Malapokitoratoreadetos
- George Kotsonaros - Hector
- Emilio Gorgato - Sarpedon
- Constantine Romanoff - Aeneas
- Alice Adair - Aphrodite
- Helen Fairweather - Athena
References
- King, Susan (February 24, 2017). "August Wilson is in good company among posthumous Oscar nominees and winners". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
- The Private Life of Helen of Troy at silentera.com database
- The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog:The Private Life of Helen of Troy