''Interference'' is a 1928 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Lothar Mendes Lothar Mendes (19 May 1894 – 24 February 1974) was a German-born screenwriter and film director. His two best known films are ''Jew Süss (1934 film), Jew Süss'' (1934) and ''The Man Who Could Work Miracles'' (1936), both productions for Briti ...

and starring

Clive Brook Clifford Hardman "Clive" Brook (1 June 1887 – 17 November 1974) was an English film actor. After making his first screen appearance in 1920, Brook emerged as a leading British actor in the early 1920s. After moving to the United States ...

William Powell William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984) was an American actor. A major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the ''The Thin Man (film), Thin Man'' series based on the Nick and Nora Cha ...

Evelyn Brent Evelyn Brent (born Mary Elizabeth Riggs; October 20, 1895 – June 4, 1975) was an American film and stage actress. Early life Brent was born in Tampa, Florida, and known as Betty. When she was age 10, her mother Eleanor (née. Warner) died, ...

, and

Doris Kenyon Doris Margaret Kenyon (September 5, 1897 – September 1, 1979) was an American actress of motion pictures and television. Early life She grew up in Syracuse, New York, where her family had a home at 1805 Harrison Street. Her father, Dr. Ja ...

, all making their sound film debuts. In

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

when a first husband turns out not to be dead, blackmail leads to murder.

Production

The film was originally produced as a silent which was directed by Lothar Mendes. However, after its completion, Paramount halted its release and decided to remake the film completely in sound. The sound version was directed by special effects technician-turned-director Roy J. Pomeroy, as the basis 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 ...

' first feature-length all-talking motion picture. Since Pomeroy lacked experience as a director, he was assisted by

William deMille William Churchill deMille (July 25, 1878 – March 5, 1955), also spelled de Mille or De Mille, was an American screenwriter and film director from the silent film era through the early 1930s. He was also a noted playwright prior to moving into ...

during the filming. It was based on the 1927 West End play ''Interference'' by

Roland Pertwee Roland Pertwee (15 May 1885 – 26 April 1963) was an English playwright, film and television screenwriter, director and actor. He was the father of ''Doctor Who'' actor Jon Pertwee and playwright and screenwriter Michael Pertwee. He was al ...

and

Harold Dearden Harold Dearden (13 December 1882 – 6 July 1962) was a British psychiatrist and screenwriter. Biography Dearden was born in Bolton, Lancashire. He was educated at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge and London Hospital. He qualified as a ph ...

. It was shot on a budget of $250,000 A silent version was also released to cater for theaters that had not yet wired for sound. While the sound version survives, the silent version is now

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

. In 1935 it was remade by Paramount as '' Without Regret''.

Synopsis

At a

Remembrance Day Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in t ...

service in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, Deborah Kane spots her old flame Philip Voaze who was supposedly killed during

World War I 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 ...

. She discovers that he has actually survived the fighting and has been living under an assumed identity. Aware that his wife Faith is now remarried to Sir John Marlay, a famous heart surgeon, she tries to force Philip to return to her by threatening to reveal Faith's inadvertent

bigamy In cultures where monogamy is mandated, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their marital status as married persons. I ...

. Philip eventually concludes that the only way to defend Faith's present happiness is to kill Deborah.

Critical reception

The film was praised in the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' as "a specimen of the strides made by the talking picture". However, a ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' review was more negative, describing ''Interference'' as "indifferent entertainment". At the London premiere, Clive Brook's mother remembered a gaff during the screening that put the crowd in an uproar. In one scene, Brook receives a postcard, tears it up and says, "Another one of those damn postcards." The needle on the disk for sound got stuck and kept repeating, "Another one of those damn postcards," over and over again while Brook, on-screen, took his wife into his arms and kissed her.Eyman, Scott. The Speed of Sound: Hollywood and the Talkie Revolution 1926-1930. Simon and Schuster, New York: 1997.

Cast

as Philip Voaze *

as Deborah Kane *

as Sir John Marlay *

as Faith Marlay *

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 Charles Smith *

Brandon Hurst Brandon Hurst (30 November 1866 – 15 July 1947) was an English stage and film actor. Early life Born in London, England, Hurst studied philology in his youth and began performing in theater in the 1880s. Before he began acting professionall ...

as Inspector Haynes *

Louis Payne William Louis Payne (January 13, 1873 – August 14, 1953) was an American character actor of the silent and sound film eras, as well as legitimate theater. Biography Born in Pennsylvania, Payne's acting life began in the first decade of the 1 ...

as Childers *

Wilfred Noy Wilfred Noy (born Wilfred Noy Blumberg, 24 December 1883 – 29 March 1948) was an English film director, actor, screenwriter and producer of the silent era. Noy was the maternal uncle of Leslie Howard.Eforgan, Estel. Leslie Howard: The Los ...

as Dr. Gray *Donald Stuart as Freddie * Clyde Cook as Hearse Driver

References

Bibliography

* Bryant, Roger. ''William Powell: The Life and Films''. McFarland, 2014.

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Interference (Film) 1928 films American black-and-white films American films based on plays Films directed by Lothar Mendes Transitional sound films 1920s crime drama films Films set in England 1920s English-language films Paramount Pictures films American crime drama films Films set in London 1928 drama films 1920s American films