''Careers'' is a 1929 American all-talking

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

drama film directed by John Francis Dillon and produced and released by First National Pictures. It stars

Billie Dove Lillian Bohny (born Bertha Eugenie Bohny; May 14, 1903 – December 31, 1997), known professionally as Billie Dove, was an American actress. Early life and career Dove was born Bertha Eugenie Bohny in New York City in 1903 to Charles and Ber ...

and features

Antonio Moreno Antonio Garrido Monteagudo (September 26, 1887 – February 15, 1967), better known as Antonio Moreno or Tony Moreno, was a Spanish-born American actor and film director of the silent film era and through the 1950s. Early life and silent fil ...

Thelma Todd Thelma Alice Todd (July 29, 1906 – December 16, 1935) was an American actress and businesswoman who carried the nicknames "The Ice Cream Blonde" and "Hot Toddy". Appearing in about 120 feature films and shorts between 1926 and 1935, sh ...

and

Noah Beery Noah Nicholas Beery (January 17, 1882 – April 1, 1946) was an American actor who appeared in films from 1913 until his death in 1946. He was the older brother of Academy Award-winning actor Wallace Beery as well as the father of prominen ...

. The film was based on a 1924 German play entitled ''Karriere'', written by Alfred Schirokauer and Paul Rosenhayn. ''Careers'' was Billie's Dove first film with dialogue.

Plot

In the French colony of

Cochin-China Cochinchina or Cochin-China (, ; vi, Đàng Trong (17th century - 18th century, Việt Nam (1802-1831), Đại Nam (1831-1862), Nam Kỳ (1862-1945); km, កូសាំងស៊ីន, Kosăngsin; french: Cochinchine; ) is a historical exony ...

, young French magistrate Victor Gromaire (

) and his wife Hélène (

) are virtually prisoners because the colony's president (

) is attracted to the wife. The president blocks Victor's career on the bench until his wife agrees to his demands. Victor, angered by this treatment after four years of hard work, secretly goes to the governor of the colony to complain. Advised by Carouge (

Holmes Herbert Holmes Herbert (born Horace Edward Jenner; 30 July 1882 – 26 December 1956) was an English character actor who appeared in Hollywood films from 1915 to 1952, often as a British gentleman. Early life Born Horace Edward Jenner, (some sou ...

), a prominent attorney in the colony, as to why her husband's career has been stymied, Hélène tries to save her husband from disaster by pleading with the president, but inadvertently reveals her husband's plan. Afraid for his safety, she consents to do whatever the president wishes, as long as he does nothing to endanger her husband. Just as he is about to take advantage of her offer, he is murdered by a native musician (

Kamiyama Sojin Sōjin Kamiyama or just Sōjin (; 30 January 1884 – 28 July 1954) was a Japanese film actor. He appeared in more than 70 films between 1917 and 1954. He was the subject of a 1995 TV documentary by the Japanese film director Nobuhiro Suwa. ...

) who has been hiding in the room. Hélène is immediately suspected of the murder, and the musician comes out of hiding and accuses her of the crime. Victor is placed in charge of the investigation and discovers that the musician is lying, and that he is the murderer. Tired of the dangers of life in the French colony, the couple head back to Paris, where Victor hopes to start a new career.

Cast

as Hélène Gromaire *

as Victor Gromaire *

as Hortense *

as The President *

as Carouge *

Carmel Myers Carmel Myers (April 9, 1899 – November 9, 1980) was an American actress who achieved her greatest successes in silent film. Early life Myers was born in San Francisco, the daughter of Isidore Myers, a Russian-Jewish rabbi who was born in ...

as the woman * Robert Frazer as Lavergne Solin *

as Biwa Player Cast note: *Carmel Myers sings the song "I Love You, I Hate You"

Preservation

The film was considered a lost film, with only the

Vitaphone Vitaphone was a sound film system used for feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects made by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National from 1926 to 1931. Vitaphone was the last major analog sound-on-disc system and the only one ...

soundtrack still in existence. However, a print was discovered an Italian film archive in 2017.2 Film Discoveries Worth Noting: Alice White and Billie Dove at NitrateVille
/ref>

References

External links

* *
''Careers''
at silentera.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Careers 1929 films American black-and-white films Films directed by John Francis Dillon First National Pictures films Warner Bros. films 1920s rediscovered films American drama films 1929 drama films Rediscovered American films 1920s English-language films 1920s American films

Plot

Cast

Preservation

See also

References

External links