''Forbidden Hours'' is a 1928 American silent

romantic drama film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typica ...

directed by

Harry Beaumont Harry Beaumont (10 February 1888 – 22 December 1966) was an American film director, actor, and screenwriter. He worked for a variety of production companies including 20th Century Fox, Fox, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation, Goldwyn, Metro Picture ...

as a vehicle for Mexican-born star

Ramon Novarro José Ramón Gil Samaniego (February 6, 1899 – October 30, 1968), known professionally as Ramon Novarro, was a Mexican-American actor. He began his career in silent films in 1917 and eventually became a leading man and one of the top box ...

. It was the second of four films to pair Novarro with leading lady

Renée Adorée Renée Adorée (born Jeanne de la Fonte; 30 September 1898 – 5 October 1933) was a French stage and film actress who appeared in Hollywood silent movies during the 1920s. She is best known for portraying the role of Melisande, the love intere ...

Plot

Set in the fictitious European kingdom of Balanca, Prince Michael IV is being coerced, by his advisers, to marry a young woman of royal blood. However, he has fallen for a peasant.

Cast

as His Majesty, Michael IV *

as Marie de Floriet *

Dorothy Cumming Dorothy Greville Cumming (12 April 1894 – 10 December 1983) was an actress of the silent film era. She appeared in 39 American, English, and Australian films between 1915 and 1929, notably appearing as the Virgin Mary in Cecil B. DeMille's ...

as Queen Alexia *

Edward Connelly Edward Connelly (December 30, 1859 – November 21, 1928) was an American stage and film actor of the silent era. Biography Connelly had a Broadway theater career going back to the Victorian era. His Broadway credits include ''The Wild Du ...

as Prime Minister *

Roy D'Arcy Roy D'Arcy (born Roy Francis Giusti; February 10, 1894 – November 15, 1969) was an American film actor of the silent film and early sound period of the 1930s noted for his portrayal of flamboyant villains. He appeared in 50 different films ...

as Duke Nicky *Mitzi Cummings as Princess Ena *

Alberta Vaughn Alberta Vaughn (June 27, 1904 – April 26, 1992) was an American actress in silent motion pictures and early Western sound films. She appeared in some 130 motion pictures. Early years Born in Ashland, Kentucky, Vaughn was the sister of ac ...

as Nina *

Maurice de Canonge Maurice de Canonge (March 18, 1894 – January 10, 1979) was a French actor and film director.Oscherwitz & Higgins p.222 He is also sometimes known by the name Maurice Cannon. Selected filmography Director * ''Inspector Grey'' (1936) * '' Captain ...

as Bit Part (uncredited)

Production

The film was shot in Los Angeles with a budget of $293,000. Working titles included ''The Sun King'', ''His Night'' and ''The Loves of Louis''. The script originally contained reworked plot elements from ''

Man in the Iron Mask The Man in the Iron Mask ( French ; died 19 November 1703) was an unidentified prisoner of state during the reign of King Louis XIV of France (1643–1715). Warranted for arrest on 28 July 1669 under the pseudonym of "Eustache Dauger", he w ...

'' but these elements were eventually discarded and the film took on a more Prussian design scheme reminiscent of the earlier Novarro success, ''

The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg ''The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg'', also known as ''The Student Prince'' and ''Old Heidelberg'', is a 1927 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer silent drama film based on the 1901 play '' Old Heidelberg'' by Wilhelm Meyer-Förster. It was directed by Ern ...

''. Plot elements were allegedly adapted from the reign of Louis XIV of France. The ''Palm Beach Post'' suggested that

Marie of Romania Marie (born Princess Marie Alexandra Victoria of Edinburgh; 29 October 1875 – 18 July 1938) was the last Queen of Romania as the wife of King Ferdinand I. Marie was born into the British royal family. Her parents were Prince Alfred, D ...

had inspired the character of the Queen Mother, played by

. News sources reported that

Jacqueline Gadsden Jacqueline Gadsden (August 3, 1900 – August 10, 1986) was an American film actress during the silent era. A native of Southern California, she was born in Lompoc to Gerald F. and Jessie H. (Salter) Gadsden and is probably best known to mode ...

Marcelle Corday Marcelle Corday (8 January 1890 – 25 June 1971) was a Belgian-born American actress. She mostly played character parts in silent and sound films. Corday was a niece of violinist Eugène Ysaÿe. She learned to play violin and piano, studyi ...

and a Shirley O'Hara were also in the cast.

Sven Hugo Borg Sven Hugo Borg (July 26, 1896 - February 19, 1981) was a Swedish-American character actor. Biography Sven Hugo Borg was born in Vinslöv, Skåne län, Sweden. Early in his career, Borg was a secretary with the Swedish Consulate in Los Angeles. W ...

may have also appeared in the film. In an expansion of the common silent-filmmaking convention of having live musicians on set, a vocalist worked on set to provide atmosphere for the actors; singer Lillian Rosine is credited as having "introduced the idea" and may have performed this task on the ''Forbidden Hours'' set. As originally scripted, Prince Michael eventually marries his betrothed in order to keep peace between his nation and hers. The concluding scene showed him passing a convent where Marie now resides as a nun. This ending, which deliberately recalled ''Student Prince'', was changed to a happier one, but press materials were still issued by the studio detailing the original ending, causing some confusion in the press.

Reception

''Forbidden Hours'' premiered at the Capitol Theater in New York on July 22, 1928. The film was greeted with mixed critical responses. The ''Film Daily'' described it as a "rehash of ''Student Prince'' and ''

Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' (german: Die lustige Witwe, links=no ) is an operetta by the Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The Libretto, librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein (writer), Leo Stein, based the story – concerning ...

'' themes." The ''Palm Beach Post'', however, was one source who praised the film's scenario, design and performances. Reviewer Anne Austin suggested in her report on the film's altered ending that Renée Adorée seemed too old for the role of Marie. As a prestige picture, ''Forbidden Hours'' was widely distributed and advertised. At the California Theatre in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

, it was accompanied by ''Hi-Yeller Idea'', a live prologue staged by Fanchon and Marco. ''Forbidden Hours'' eventually made a profit of $109,000, but was considered a commercial disappointment by the studio. Long thought to be lost, it was discovered to have survived in 2000, and had its first theatrical screening in seventy-three years at the Bijou Theater in

Lincoln City, Oregon Lincoln City is a city in Lincoln County on the Oregon Coast of the United States, between Tillamook and Newport. It is named after the county, which was named in honor of former U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. The population was 9,815 at the 202 ...

in 2002.Enders, John. Silent Films Drawing New Audiences. ''Bangor Daily News''. January 21. 2002 p. C8. Web. April 2. 2014

References

External links

* {{Harry Beaumont 1928 films American romantic drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films directed by Harry Beaumont Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1920s rediscovered films Rediscovered American films 1928 romantic drama films 1920s English-language films 1920s American films Silent romantic drama films Silent American drama films