''Doomsday'' is a 1928 American

romance drama Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

silent film directed by Rowland V. Lee and starring

Florence Vidor Florence Vidor (née Cobb, later Arto; July 23, 1895 – November 3, 1977) was an American silent film actress. Early life Vidor was born in Houston on July 23, 1895, to John and Ida Cobb. Her parents had married in Houston on March 3, 1894, bu ...

and

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, a ...

. Written by Julian Johnson, Donald W. Lee, and Doris Anderson, based on the 1927 novel ''

Doomsday Doomsday may refer to: * Eschatology, a time period described in the eschatological writings in Abrahamic religions and in doomsday scenarios of non-Abrahamic religions. * Global catastrophic risk, a hypothetical event explored in science and fict ...

'' by

Warwick Deeping George Warwick Deeping (28 May 1877 – 20 April 1950) was an English novelist and short story writer, whose best-known novel was '' Sorrell and Son'' (1925). Life Born in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, into a family of physicians, Warwick Deeping ...

, the film is about a woman who marries a wealthy landowner to escape her life of poverty, leaving behind the handsome farmer she truly loves. Produced by Jesse L. Lasky, Rowland V. Lee, Hector Turnbull, and

Adolph Zukor Adolph Zukor (; hu, Zukor Adolf; January 7, 1873 – June 10, 1976) was a Hungarian-American film producer best known as one of the three founders of Paramount Pictures.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'' (June 16, 1976), p. 76. He produ ...

for

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

, ''Doomsday'' was released on February 18, 1928 in the United States.

Plot

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

, England after the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, former aristocrat Mary Viner (

) and her father, retired sea captain Hesketh Viner (Charles A. Stevenson), live in a small humble cottage on Doomsday, a large and valuable farm property owned by a wealthy landlord named Percival Fream (

Lawrence Grant Percy Reginald Lawrence-Grant (30 October 1870 in Bournemouth, Hampshire, England – 19 February 1952 in Santa Barbara, California, USA) was an English actor known for supporting roles in films such as ''The Living Ghost'', '' I'll Tell ...

). Mary is attracted to another tenant at Doomsday, Arnold Furze (

), a young ex-officer and farmer who works the land with pride as if it were his own. Soon she and Arnold fall in love, but she longs to escape her oppressive poverty. Meanwhile, the self-made wealthy landlord Percival develops an attraction to Mary and hopes to marry the former aristocrat as evidence of his rising social status. One day middle-aged Percival makes his intentions known to Mary, who cannot resist his palatial home and the lifestyle he offers her. Despite her love for Arnold, she selfishly agrees to marry Percival. After the wedding, they leave Mary's infirm father in the care of a nurse and sail to the Continent and spend the next year living abroad. During that time, Percival gives her jewelry and expensive dresses, but does not give her the love she desires. He treats her as just another one of his belongings to display in front of his friends. Eventually, Mary discovers that the lifestyle she chose has not brought her happiness and that her loveless marriage to Percival was a mistake. After she learns of her father's death, she asks Percival for an annulment. Left with no money and no place to live, Mary ends up at Arnold's cottage and humbly offers to work for him as a housekeeper. Still feeling betrayed by Mary's earlier rejection of their love, Arnold cautiously accepts her offer, but for the next six months, he treats her in an insensitive and overbearing manner. Gradually, their love is rekindled, Arnold atones for his harsh behavior, and the two once again find happiness in each other.

Cast

as Mary Viner *

as Arnold Furze *

as Percival Fream * Charles A. Stevenson as Capt. Hesketh Viner *

Tom Ricketts Thomas B. Ricketts (15 January 1853 – 19 January 1939) was an English-born American stage and film actor and director who was a pioneer in the film industry. He portrayed Ebenezer Scrooge in the first American film adaptation of ''A Christm ...

as Percival's Butler * Frederick Sullivan as Percival's Associate

Production

The screenplay for the film is based on the 1927 novel ''

'' by

Critical response

''Doomsday'' received poor reviews upon its theatrical release. In his review for the ''New York Times'',

Mordaunt Hall Mordaunt Hall (1 November 1878 – 2 July 1973) was the first regularly assigned motion picture critic for ''The New York Times'', working from October 1924 to September 1934. Hall holds the director responsible for most of the film's shortcomings. Hall concludes that Cooper's acting is "wonderfully natural" and gives the character "an ingratiating personality". Vidor is "equally competent" in her performance, but is undermined by Lee's "unimaginative direction".

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Doomsday 1928 films American silent feature films Films directed by Rowland V. Lee Films based on British novels Paramount Pictures films American black-and-white films Films set in England American romantic drama films 1928 romantic drama films 1920s American films Silent romantic drama films Silent American drama films