''Road to Paradise'' is a 1930 American

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 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 ...

produced and distributed by First National Pictures, and starring

Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1953. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the fil ...

Jack Mulhall John Joseph Francis Mulhall (October 7, 1887 – June 1, 1979) was an American film actor beginning in the silent film era who successfully transitioned to sound films, appearing in over 430 films in a career spanning 50 years. Early years Mu ...

and

Raymond Hatton Raymond William Hatton (July 7, 1887 – October 21, 1971) was an American film actor who appeared in almost 500 motion pictures. Biography Hatton was born in Red Oak, Iowa. His physician father steered him toward a career in medicine. Howev ...

. It was directed by

William Beaudine William Washington Beaudine (January 15, 1892 – March 18, 1970) was an American film actor and director. He was one of Hollywood's most prolific directors, turning out films in remarkable numbers and in a wide variety of genres. Life and car ...

and is based on a 1920 play Dodson Mitchell by

Zelda Sears Zelda Sears (née Paldi; January 21, 1873 – February 19, 1935) was an American actress, screenwriter, novelist and businesswoman. Early life and background She was born as Zelda Paldi near Brockway Township, St. Clair County, Michigan, into ...

called ''Cornered''. The film was a remake of a 1924 silent version, entitled ''Cornered'', which was also directed by William Beaudine.

Plot

Loretta Young plays the part of an orphan named Mary Brennan, who has been raised by two thieves (Raymond Hatton and George Barraud) and does not know that she has a twin sister who is now a wealthy socialite (Loretta Young as Margaret Waring). One day, while she is dining at a Chinese restaurant with her two guardians, they notice the wealthy socialite and are taken aback at how closely she resembles Brennan. Hatton and Barraud convince Brennan that she should impersonate the socialite so that they can enter her house and steal the contents of her safe. Brennan enters the house and meet Jack Mulhall who senses something different about Waring and immediately falls in love with her. When night falls, Brennan lets Hatton and Barraud into the house and they attempt to open the safe. Waring happens to enter the house and is shocked to find a woman that looks like her. She is shot at by Barraud, Brennan stays behind to care for Waring but tricks the police into thinking that Waring is the imposter and thief. Even though Mulhall knows the truth, he keeps quiet because he is in love with her. Eventually Brennan discovers that Waring is her twin sister when they discover that they have matching lockets, the charges are dropped and Brennan accepts Mulhall's proposal of marriage.

Cast

Preservation status

The film survives intact has been shown on television and cable. ''Road to Paradise'' has been preserved at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

.''Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress'', (<-book title) page 153 by The American Film Institute, c.1978

Home media

The film is available on DVD from the

Warner Archive Collection The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inte ...

as a double bill with another Loretta Young film ''

Week-End Marriage ''Week-End Marriage'' is a 1932 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Thornton Freeland and starring Loretta Young. It was produced by First National Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. It is based on the 1932 novel, ''Week-End Marriag ...

''.

References

External links

Road to Paradise at IMDb.com

Road to Pardise at TCM

allmovie/synopsis; ''Road to Paradise''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Road To Paradise (Film) 1930 films American films based on plays First National Pictures films 1930 drama films American drama films American black-and-white films Warner Bros. films Films directed by William Beaudine 1930s English-language films Films with screenplays by F. Hugh Herbert 1930s American films