''Sorrell and Son'' is a 1927 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 ...

released on December 2, 1927 and nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Director The Academy Award for Best Director (officially known as the Academy Award of Merit for Directing) is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of a film director who has exhibi ...

at the

1st Academy Awards The 1st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and hosted by AMPAS president Douglas Fairbanks, honored the best films from 1 August 1927 to 31 July 1928 and took place on May 1 ...

the following year. The film was based on the 1925 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 ...

, ''Sorrell and Son'', which became and remained a bestseller throughout the 1920s and 1930s. The screenplay was adapted by

Elizabeth Meehan Elizabeth Meehan (22 August 1894 – 24 April 1967) was a British screenwriter who worked in both Britain and Hollywood. Early life Meehan was born on the Isle of Wight, and lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Career As a young woman, Bet ...

. It was written and directed by

Herbert Brenon Herbert Brenon (born Alexander Herbert Reginald St. John Brenon; 13 January 1880 – 21 June 1958) was an Irish-born U.S. film director, actor and screenwriter during the era of silent films through the 1930s. Brenon was among the early film ...

. Filming took place 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 ...

Remake

The story has been remade twice, once in 1934 as '' Sorrell and Son'', with

H.B. Warner Henry Byron Warner (born Henry Byron Lickfold, 26 October 1876 – 21 December 1958) was an English film and theatre actor. He was popular during the silent era and played Jesus Christ in '' The King of Kings''. In later years, he successfu ...

repeating his role as Stephen Sorrell, and once as a British television serial in 1984.

Preservation status

The 1927 version was considered 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 ...

for many years. However, the

Academy Film Archive The Academy Film Archive is part of the Academy Foundation, established in 1944 with the purpose of organizing and overseeing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ educational and cultural activities, including the preservation of m ...

restored both an almost-complete copy of ''Sorrell and Son'' and a trailer for the film, in 2004 and 2006, respectively.

Cast

H. B. Warner Henry Byron Warner (born Henry Byron Lickfold, 26 October 1876 – 21 December 1958) was an English film and theatre actor. He was popular during the silent era and played Jesus Christ in '' The King of Kings''. In later years, he successfu ...

as Stephen Sorrell *

Anna Q. Nilsson Anna Quirentia Nilsson (March 30, 1888 – February 11, 1974) was a Swedish-American actress who achieved success in American silent movies. Early life Nilsson was born in Ystad, Sweden in 1888. Her middle name Quirentia is derived from her ...

as Dora Sorrell *

Mickey McBan Mickey McBan (February 27, 1919 – October 30, 1979) was an American child actor. He was born in Spokane, Washington to British theatrical parents. McBan began his acting career at the age of four in ''Poor Men's Wives'' and specialized in port ...

as Kit (as a child) *

Carmel Myers Carmel Myers (April 9, 1899 – November 9, 1980) was an American actress who achieved her greatest successes in silent film. Early life Myers was born in San Francisco, the daughter of Isidore Myers, a Russian-Jewish rabbi who was born in ...

as Flo Palfrey *

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, Lil ...

as John Palfrey *

Norman Trevor Norman Gilbert Pritchard (23 June 1875 – 30 October 1929), also known by his stage name Norman Trevor, was a British-Indian athlete and actor who became the first Asian-born athlete to win an Olympic medal when he won two silver medals in a ...

as Thomas Roland *

Betsy Ann Hisle Betsy Ann Hisle (born Juanita J. Hisle; May 30, 1917 – September 20, 1978) was an American child actress. She is best known for appearing in ''Nellie, the Beautiful Cloak Model'' (1924), ''The Way of All Flesh ''The Way of All Fl ...

as Molly (as a child) *

Louis Wolheim Louis Robert Wolheim (March 28, 1880 – February 18, 1931) was an American actor, of both stage and screen, whose rough physical appearance relegated him to roles mostly of thugs or villains in the movies, but whose talent allowed him to fl ...

as Buck *

Paul McAllister Paul McAllister (June 30, 1875 – July 8, 1955), was an American film actor. He appeared in 37 films between 1913 and 1940. He was born in Brooklyn, New York and died in Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spa ...

as Dr. Orange *

Alice Joyce Alice Joyce Brown ( Joyce; October 1, 1890 – October 9, 1955) was an American actress who appeared in more than 200 films during the 1910s and 1920s. She is known for her roles in the 1923 film '' The Green Goddess'' and its 1930 remake of ...

as Fanny Garland *

Nils Asther Nils Anton Alfhild Asther (17 January 1897 – 19 October 1981)Swedi ...

as Christopher 'Kit' Sorrell *

Mary Nolan Mary Nolan (born Mariam Imogene Robertson; December 18, 1902 – October 31, 1948) was an American stage and film actress, singer and dancer. She began her career as a Ziegfeld girl in the 1920s performing under the stage name Imogene "Bubbles ...

as Molly Roland

References

External links

www.warwickdeeping.com
* *
''Sorrell and Son''
at Virtual History

at the Alice Joyce website

at silenthollywood.com 1927 films American black-and-white films Lost American films American silent feature films 1920s English-language films Films directed by Herbert Brenon British silent feature films Films based on British novels Films set in England Silent American drama films British drama films 1920s rediscovered films 1927 drama films Rediscovered American films 1920s American films 1920s British films {{silent-drama-film-stub

Remake

Preservation status

Cast

See also

References

External links