''Rose-Marie'' is a 1928 American silent

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

Lucien Hubbard Lucien Hubbard (December 22, 1888 – December 31, 1971) was a film producer and screenwriter. Biography Hubbard is best known for producing the 1927 film ''Wings (1927 film), Wings'', for which he received the first Academy Award for Best Pic ...

. It was the first of three

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

adaptations of the 1924

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musical ''

Rose-Marie ''Rose-Marie'' is an operetta-style musical with music by Rudolf Friml and Herbert Stothart, and book and lyrics by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II. The story is set in the Canadian Rocky Mountains and concerns Rose-Marie La Flemme, a ...

''. The best-known film adaptation starring

Nelson Eddy Nelson Ackerman Eddy (June 29, 1901 – March 6, 1967) was an American actor and baritone singer who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclub ...

and

Jeanette MacDonald Jeanette Anna MacDonald (June 18, 1903 – January 14, 1965) was an American singer and Actor, actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier (''The Love Parade'', ''Love Me Tonight'', ''The Merry Widow (1934 ...

was released in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

; another film was released in 1954. All three versions are set in the Canadian wilderness. Portions of

Rudolf Friml Charles Rudolf Friml"Mrs. Rudolf Friml to Receive Divorce"
...

and

Herbert Stothart Herbert Pope Stothart (September 11, 1885February 1, 1949) was an American songwriter, arranger, conductor, and composer. He was also nominated for twelve Academy Awards, winning Best Original Score for '' The Wizard of Oz''. Stothart was widel ...

's original score for the Broadway musical are utilized in the 1936 and 1954 films, but not for the silent version. MGM provided sheet music with the film for playing at the theater.

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pict ...

, who starred in the 1928 version alongside James Murray, later remarked, "''Rose Marie'' was surprisingly good without the music, but I felt uneasy as a French Canadian, but the critics didn't notice."

Plot summary

Cast

as Rose-Marie * James Murray as Jim Kenyon *

House Peters Robert House Peters Sr. (12 March 1880 – 7 December 1967) was a British-born American silent film actor, known to filmgoers of the era as "The Star of a Thousand Emotions". Biography Born in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England, Peters bega ...

as Sergeant Malone *

Creighton Hale Creighton Hale (born Patrick Fitzgerald; May 24, 1882 – August 9, 1965) was an Irish-American theatre, film, and television actor whose career extended more than a half-century, from the early 1900s to the end of the 1950s. Career Born in Cou ...

as Etienne Doray *

Gibson Gowland Gibson Gowland (4 January 1877 – 9 September 1951) was an English film actor. Biography Gowland was born in Spennymoor, County Durham. He started work as a sailor and later became the mate on a ship. For several years from the age of 25 he ...

as Black Bastien * George Cooper as Fuzzy *

Lionel Belmore Lionel Belmore (12 May 1867 – 30 January 1953) was an English character actor and director on stage for more than a quarter of a century. Life and career Onstage, Belmore appeared with Wilson Barrett, Sir Henry Irving, William Faversham, ...

as Henri Duray *

William Orlamond William Anderson Orlamond (1 August 1867 – 23 April 1957) was a Danish-American film actor. Orlamond appeared in more than 80 films between 1912 and 1938. Partial filmography * ''A Rogue's Romance'' (1919) * ''Elmo the Mighty'' (1919) ...

as Emile La Flamme *

Polly Moran Pauline Theresa Moran (June 28, 1883 – January 25, 1952) billed as Polly Moran, was an American actress of vaudeville, stage and screen and comedian. Career Born in Chicago, Illinois, Moran started in vaudeville, and widely toured North A ...

as Lady Jane *

Harry Gribbon Harry Peter Gribbon (June 9, 1885 – July 28, 1961) was an American film actor, comedian and director known for ''The Cameraman'' (1928), ''Show People'' (1928) and ''Art Trouble'' (1934). He appeared in more than 140 films between 1915 a ...

as Trooper Gray *

Gertrude Astor Gertrude Astor (born Gertrude Irene Eyster; November 9, 1887 – November 9, 1977) was an American motion picture character actress, who began her career playing trombone in a woman's band. Early years Gertrude Irene Eyster was born in Lake ...

as Wanda *

Ralph Yearsley Ralph Yearsley (October 6, 1896 – December 4, 1928) was a British-born character actor who worked in Hollywood films. Early life and education Born in London, England, he was trained in a medical school, but left for the United States to pursu ...

as Jean * Sven Hugo Borg as Hudson *

Lloyd Hamilton Lloyd Vernon Hamilton (August 19, 1891 – January 19, 1935) was an American film comedian, best remembered for his work in the silent era. Career Having begun his career as an extra in theatre-productions, Hamilton first appeared on film in ...

as Fuzzy - Bearded Trapper (scenes deleted) *

Lou Costello Louis Francis Cristillo (March 6, 1906 – March 3, 1959), professionally known as Lou Costello, was an American comedian, actor and producer. He was best known for his double act with straight man Bud Abbott and their routine " Who's on First? ...

as Extra and Stunt Performer (uncredited) * Margaret Lee as Extra (uncredited)

Production

"Rose-Marie" was initially filmed with Renee Adoree in the lead and

William Nigh William Nigh (October 12, 1881 – November 27, 1955) was an American film director, writer, and actor. His film work sometimes lists him as either "Will Nigh" or "William Nye". Biography Nigh was born Emil Kreuske''Silent Film Necrology'', ...

directing. After two weeks of location filming at

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ar ...

, the studio shut down the production, fired Nigh, and brought

in to produce and write a new screenplay. Another director,

Edmund Goulding Edmund Goulding (20 March 1891 – 24 December 1959) was a British screenwriter and film director. As an actor early in his career he was one of the 'Ghosts' in the 1922 silent film ''Three Live Ghosts'' alongside Norman Kerry and Cyril Chadwick. ...

, was assigned, and he re-cast the picture, selecting Joan Crawford for the lead role. Goulding, although referenced in the trade press throughout the production, was ultimately not credited as director.

Reception

Norbert Lusk summed up the response of New York critics: "'Rose-Marie'...has proved disappointing. With unusual unanimity the reviewers rate it just another story about the Northwest Mounted Police, which never reaches more than lukewarm interest in spite of good acting and, of course, beautiful scenery. It's strongest asset is its title, which will doubtless draw in the absence of word-of-mouth advertising." Mae Tinee, writing in the ''Chicago Daily Tribune'', called the film "charming," but felt that Crawford "has not the fire and depth that Miss Adoree brings to her characterizations."

Preservation status

''Rose-Marie'' is considered to be a

lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy o ...

. MGM once had a policy, when a film was remade, to destroy prints of the original film,''Rose-Marie'' 1928
at legendaryjoancrawford.com so prints of this film may have been destroyed when the 1936 remake was released.

References

External links

* * * *
Still of Crawford and Murray
at gettyimages.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Rose-Marie (1928 Film) 1928 films 1928 drama films Silent American drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films American films based on plays Lost American films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1928 lost films Lost drama films 1920s English-language films 1920s American films