''The Circle'' is a 1925 American silent

romantic comedy film Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

directed by

Frank Borzage Frank Borzage (; April 23, 1894 – June 19, 1962) was an Academy Award-winning American film director and actor, known for directing '' 7th Heaven'' (1927), '' Street Angel'' (1928), '' Bad Girl'' (1931), '' A Farewell to Arms'' (1932), ''Man's ...

. The film stars

Eleanor Boardman Olive Eleanor Boardman (August 19, 1898 – December 12, 1991) was an American film actress of the silent era. Early life and career Olive Eleanor Boardman was born on August 19, 1898, the youngest child to George W. Boardman and Janice Merriam ...

Malcolm McGregor Malcolm McGregor (October 13, 1892 – April 29, 1945) was an American actor of the silent era. McGregor appeared in more than 50 films between 1922 and 1936. He was born in Newark, New Jersey and died in Hollywood, California. A cross bet ...

, and Alec B. Francis. A young

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 ...

(whose name was changed that year from Lucille LeSueur through a contest run by the studio) appears in the film's opening scene and later in a photograph viewed by other characters. The screenplay, written by Kenneth B. Clarke, was based on the 1921 play of the same title by

W. Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...

. The play was filmed again by MGM as an early sound release (also released in a silent version) in 1930 as ''

Strictly Unconventional ''Strictly Unconventional'' is a 1930 American pre-Code drama film directed by David Burton, written by Sylvia Thalberg and Frank Butler, and starring Catherine Dale Owen, Paul Cavanagh, Tyrell Davis, Lewis Stone and Ernest Torrence. It was ...

''.

Plot

In the 1890s, young Lady Catherine (

) decides to leave her husband, Lord Clive Cheney (Derek Glynne), and her son Arnold in favor of her lover, "Hughie" Porteous (Frank Braidwood). Thirty years later, young Elizabeth Cheney (

) is facing the same choice between her husband, the now grown Arnold (

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 ...

), and her lover, Teddy Luton ( Malcolm McGregor). Before going off with Teddy, however, Elizabeth wants to know how the love match between Catherine and Hughie has worked out, so she has invited them to the house while Arnold's now-aged father, Lord Clive ( Alec B. Francis), is away on a hunting trip. Scenes of Catherine and Hughie driving toward the house, with only the backs of their heads visible, are intercut. The prim and fussy Arnold is nervous about the impending visit, but when Lord Clive returns to the house unexpectedly just before Catherine (

Eugenie Besserer Eugenie Besserer ( – May 29, 1934) was an American actress who starred in silent films and features of the early sound motion-picture era, beginning in 1910. Her most prominent role is that of the title character's mother in the first talkie ...

) and Hughie (

George Fawcett George Fawcett (August 25, 1860 – June 6, 1939) was an American stage and film actor of the silent era. Biography Born in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1860, Fawcett graduated from the University of Virginia. His initial inclination was to ...

) arrive, the older man does not seem at all upset by their arrival. The former young lovers have not aged well. Catherine is flighty, trying to maintain a façade of youth, and Hugh is fat and cranky. Although the two bicker and complain during their visit, Elizabeth sees that they still have a strong bond of affection after thirty years together, and she vows to seek happiness with Teddy instead of the dull safety of marriage with Arnold. Arnold (as well as Clive and the house butler) is aware that Elizabeth may elope with Teddy and seeks his father's advice. Clive cautions his son against acting too impetuously. Encountering Elizabeth, Arnold fails to offer a passionate response to her possible departure from his life. When Elizabeth asks Teddy how he would react if another man tried to take her he away, he says that he would blacken one of her eyes and close the other, which convinces her of Teddy's passion as Arnold watches, unseen by the two. Clive talks with Hughie, believing that he has helped to save Arnold's marriage, unaware that Elizabeth and Teddy have driven away in a chauffeured car. The two try to kiss on the bumpy drive without being watched by the driver, who is wearing a cap and driver's goggles. When the car seems to break down, the chauffeur reveals himself to be Arnold. He tells Teddy that he will blacken one of his eyes and close the other, and punches his rival. He then forces Elizabeth back in the car and returns to the house. After dinner, Arnold tells Elizabeth that it is time for bed. Outside the bedroom, he loosens his robe and strides in, closing the door. Meanwhile, Clive and Hughie, unaware of all of these developments, simply think that the foolishness of youth has been averted and break down in laughter with each other. This ending is a distinct change from Maugham's play, which ends with Teddy and Elizabeth happily running off together.

Cast

Archival copy and DVD release

A 35mm print of the film survives today at the

George Eastman Museum The George Eastman Museum, also referred to as ''George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography and Film'', the world's oldest museum dedicated to photography and one of the world's oldest film archives, opened to the public in 1949 in ...

. A DVD of it was released by Warner Home Video.

References

External links

* * * *Paul Joyce
Blog review: "Borzage Directs Boardman . . . ''The Circle'', 1925"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Circle, The 1925 films 1925 comedy-drama films 1925 romantic comedy films 1920s romantic comedy-drama films American black-and-white films American films based on plays American romantic comedy-drama films American silent feature films Films about infidelity Films based on works by W. Somerset Maugham Films directed by Frank Borzage Films set in London Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1920s American films Silent comedy-drama films Silent romantic comedy films Silent romantic drama films Silent American drama films Silent American comedy films