''S.O.S.'' is a 1928 British
silent adventure film
An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, an ...
directed by
Leslie S. Hiscott
Leslie Stephenson Hiscott (25 July 18943 May 1968) was an English film director and screenwriter who made over sixty films between 1925 and 1956. He was born in London in 1894. He directed ''Alibi'' (1931), the first ever depiction of Hercule ...
and starring
Robert Loraine
Robert Bilcliffe Loraine (14 January 1876 – 23 December 1935) was a successful London and Broadway British stage actor, actor-manager, and soldier who later enjoyed a side career as a pioneer aviator. Born in New Brighton, his father was Henr ...
,
Bramwell Fletcher
Bramwell Fletcher (20 February 1904 – 22 June 1988) was an English stage, film, and television actor.
Career
Fletcher appeared on the stage in 1927 and made his Broadway debut in 1929. Hollywood and sound films soon beckoned. He made his ...
and
Ursula Jeans
Ursula Jean McMinn (5 May 1906 – 21 April 1973), better known as Ursula Jeans, was an English film, stage, and television actress.
Biography
Jeans was born in Simla, British India, to English parents, and brought up and educated in London. S ...
. The film takes its title from the
morse code
Morse code is a method used in telecommunication to encode text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called ''dots'' and ''dashes'', or ''dits'' and ''dahs''. Morse code is named after Samuel Morse, one of ...
distress signal
S.O.S. It was made at
Lime Grove Studios
Lime Grove Studios was a film, and later television, studio complex in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England.
The complex was built by the Gaumont Film Company in 1915. It was situated in Lime Grove, a residential street in Shepherd's Bush, and ...
.
The film marked director Hiscott's first move from
comedy films
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
, which he had begun his career making, into the straight dramatic films that would become best known for.
Cast
*
Robert Loraine
Robert Bilcliffe Loraine (14 January 1876 – 23 December 1935) was a successful London and Broadway British stage actor, actor-manager, and soldier who later enjoyed a side career as a pioneer aviator. Born in New Brighton, his father was Henr ...
as Owen Herriott
*
Bramwell Fletcher
Bramwell Fletcher (20 February 1904 – 22 June 1988) was an English stage, film, and television actor.
Career
Fletcher appeared on the stage in 1927 and made his Broadway debut in 1929. Hollywood and sound films soon beckoned. He made his ...
as Herriott
*
Ursula Jeans
Ursula Jean McMinn (5 May 1906 – 21 April 1973), better known as Ursula Jeans, was an English film, stage, and television actress.
Biography
Jeans was born in Simla, British India, to English parents, and brought up and educated in London. S ...
as Lady Weir
*
Lewis Dayton as Sir Julian Weir
*
Andrée Sacré as Judy Weir
*
Campbell Gullan as Karensky
*
Anita Sharp-Bolster
Anita Sharp-Bolster (28 August 1895 – 1 June 1985) was an Irish-born American actress who appeared in 88 films and 12 TV series from 1928 to 1978. She was sometimes billed as Anita Bolster.
Early life
She was born 28 August 1895 in Glen ...
as Mme. Karensky
*
Viola Lyel
Viola Lyel (19 December 1896 – 14 August 1972) was an English actress. In a long stage career she appeared in the West End and on Broadway, for leading directors of the day, including Sir Barry Jackson, and Nigel Playfair. Her roles ranged fr ...
as Effie
References
Bibliography
* Low, Rachel. ''The History of British Film: Volume IV, 1918–1929''. Routledge, 1997.
External links
*
1928 films
1920s adventure drama films
1920s English-language films
Films directed by Leslie S. Hiscott
British silent feature films
Films shot at Lime Grove Studios
British black-and-white films
British adventure drama films
1928 drama films
1920s British films
Silent drama films
Silent adventure films
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