''The Devil's Maze'' is an all-talking 1929 sound British

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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Gareth Gundrey Gareth Gundrey (1893–1965) was a British producer, screenwriter and film director. Selected filmography Director * ''Just for a Song'' (1930) * '' Symphony in Two Flats'' (1930) * '' The Stronger Sex'' (1931) * ''The Hound of the Baskervilles ...

and starring Renee Clama, Trilby Clark and

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer, best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his ...

. The film was made at the Lime Grove Studios. A cut down edited silent version with intertitles was available for theatres who were not yet wired for sound. It was based on the play ''Mostly Fools'' by G.R. Malloch.

Plot

The film tells the story of a woman who was seduced by a man and becomes pregnant. In order to uphold her reputation, the woman blames the pregnancy on an explorer whom she believes to be dead. The explorer, however, who is very much alive, makes an unexpected return.

Cast

* Renee Clama as Frances Mildmay * Trilby Clark as Barbara Carlton *

as Derek Riffington *

Hayford Hobbs Hayford Hobbs (25 August 1890 – 10 January 1957) was a leading British film actor of the silent era and later became a film director. He was born in London, England, in 1891. He made his first screen appearance in the 1915 film ''The Third Gene ...

as Hon. James Carlton * Gerald Rawlinson as Robin Masters * Davy Burnaby as Mr. Fry

Music

Musical numbers in the sound version of the film include “Four-Ways Suite” by Coates; “You’re My Silver Lining of Love” by Vincent Rose, and the theme song by Louis Levy.

Reception

Due to the adult content of the film it was censored or banned in many places. The film was withdrawn from circulation in Dublin, Ireland after protests erupted.''Exhibitors Daily Review and Motion Pictures Today'' https://archive.org/details/exhibitorsdailyr27unse/page/n753/mode/1up?q=%22The+Devil%27s+Maze%22; '' The Film Daily'' https://archive.org/details/filmdailyvolume55354newy/page/124/mode/1up?q=%22devil%27s+maze%22

References

Bibliography

* Cook, Pam (ed.). ''Gainsborough Pictures''. Cassell, 1997. * Low, Rachael. ''History of the British Film: Filmmaking in 1930s Britain''. George Allen & Unwin, 1985 .

External links

* 1929 films 1929 drama films British drama films Films directed by Gareth Gundrey British films based on plays Films shot at Lime Grove Studios British black-and-white films 1920s English-language films 1920s British films English-language drama films Films scored by Louis Levy {{1920s-UK-film-stub