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''Kitty'' is a 1929 British drama film directed by
Victor Saville Victor Saville (25 September 1895 – 8 May 1979) was an English film director, producer, and screenwriter. He directed 39 films between 1927 and 1954. He also produced 36 films between 1923 and 1962. Biography Saville produced his first f ...
and starring
Estelle Brody Estelle Brody (15 August 1900 – 3 June 1995) was an American actress who became one of the biggest female stars of British silent film in the latter half of the 1920s. Her career was then derailed by a series of ill-advised decisions and ...
and John Stuart. The film was adapted from the 1927 novel of the same name 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 ...
and marked the third co-star billing of Brody and Stuart, who had previously proved a very popular screen pairing in '' Mademoiselle from Armentieres'' (1926) and '' Hindle Wakes'' (1927). ''Kitty'' was initially planned and filmed as a silent, but after its original release Saville decided to reshoot the latter part with sound. As no suitable facilities were yet available in Britain, Saville, Brody and Stuart travelled to New York to shoot the new sequences at
RKO Studios RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheu ...
.Victor Saville (1896-1979)
BFI Screen Online. ''Retrieved 18 August 2010'' The film was released in the form of a silent which switched to sound three quarters of the way through.


Plot

In pre-World War I London, handsome young aviator Alex St. George (Stuart) meets and falls in love with shopgirl Kitty Greenwood (Brody). He asks her to marry him, to the horror of his snobbish, class-bound mother (
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' ...
), who is appalled by the notion of her son marrying into a family who run a tobacconists shop. Before the wedding can take place, war breaks out and Alex is called up to serve as a pilot. Seeing her opportunity to sabotage the relationship, Mrs. St. George sets about trying to poison Alex's mind against Kitty by feeding him via letter a string of malicious and false tales about Kitty's behaviour, alleging that in his absence she is frequently to be seen around town flirting and behaving in an improper manner with other young men. Alex becomes so unnerved and distraught about his mother's stories that his concentration is affected and he crashes his plane, suffering not only critical injuries which leave him in danger of paralysis, but also amnesia. Alex is repatriated to England for treatment and faces a long and painful physical rehabilitation and the struggle to regain his memory, while at the same time a battle of wills is being waged by his mother and Kitty, both trying to convince him that the other is lying. Eventually Kitty succeeds in rekindling his love for her, and Mrs. St. George is crushed.


Cast

*
Estelle Brody Estelle Brody (15 August 1900 – 3 June 1995) was an American actress who became one of the biggest female stars of British silent film in the latter half of the 1920s. Her career was then derailed by a series of ill-advised decisions and ...
as Kitty Greenwood * John Stuart as Alex St. George *
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' ...
as Mrs. St. George *
Marie Ault Marie Ault (2 September 1870 – 9 May 1951) was a British character actress of stage and film. Biography Born as Mary Cragg, in Wigan, Lancashire, (now Greater Manchester. England. Ault was a star in many British films of the silent era but is ...
as Sarah Greenwood *
Winter Hall Winter Hall (21 June 1872 – 10 February 1947) was a New Zealand actor of the silent era who later appeared in sound films. He performed in more than 120 films between 1916 and 1938. Prior to that, he had a career as a stage actor in Austr ...
as John Furnival *
Olaf Hytten Olaf Hytten (3 March 1888 – 11 March 1955) was a Scottish actor. He appeared in more than 280 films between 1921 and 1955. He was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and died in Los Angeles, California from a heart attack, while sitting in his car ...
as Leaper * Charles O'Shaugnessy as Reuben * Elwood Fleet Bostwick as Dr. Dazely *
Gibb McLaughlin George McLoughlin (19 July 1879 – 30 June 1961), known professionally as Gibb McLaughlin, was an English film and stage actor. Early days McLaughlin was born in Sunderland, County Durham, England in 1879. For about 10 years he was a sales ...
as Electrician * Rex Maurice as Dr. Drake *
Moore Marriott George Thomas Moore Marriott (14 September 1885 – 11 December 1949) was an English character actor best remembered for the series of films he made with Will Hay. His first appearance with Hay was in the film '' Dandy Dick'' (1935), but he wa ...
as Workman


Historical significance

''Kitty'', released in May 1929, is sometimes cited as the first British sound film as it was released in cinemas before Alfred Hitchcock's '' Blackmail'', the other candidate for the honour. But that date only actually applies to its first silent version; the film was soon withdrawn from exhibition and retooled as a part-talkie, following the release of ''Blackmail''. Furthermore, opponents of its claim point out that the sound portion of ''Kitty'' was filmed in the US, whereas ''Blackmail'' was filmed entirely in the UK. Drawing the distinction between "first British film with sound" and "first sound film made in Britain", this view holds that the latter is the true definition of the term and the distinction therefore goes to ''Blackmail''.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kitty (1929 film)) 1929 films 1929 drama films British silent feature films Films shot at British International Pictures Studios Films directed by Victor Saville British black-and-white films Films based on British novels Films set in England Films set in London Films set in France British World War I films British drama films Transitional sound drama films British aviation films 1920s English-language films 1920s British films