''The Great Divide'' is a 1925 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

Reginald Barker Reginald C. Barker (April 2, 1886 – February 23, 1945) was a pioneer film director. Biography Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Barker's family moved to Scotland when he was an infant and then to the United States. Living in California, ...

and produced and distributed by

MGM 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 through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

. The film stars Alice Terry,

Conway Tearle Conway Tearle (born Frederick Conway Levy, May 17, 1878 – October 1, 1938) was an American stage actor who went on to perform in silent and early sound films. Early life Tearle was born on May 17, 1878, in New York City, the son of the ...

, and Wallace Beery. It is based on the William Vaughn Moody play, being the second of three film adaptations. The play had been made famous on the 1906 Broadway stage with Margaret Anglin,

Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, social criticism, philosophical ref ...

Laura Hope Crews Laura Hope Crews (December 12, 1879 – November 12, 1942) was an American actress who is best remembered today for her later work as a character actress in motion pictures of the 1930s. Her best-known film role was Aunt Pittypat in ''Gone ...

, and a pre-Griffith Henry B. Walthall in the principal parts.

Plot

As described in a review in a film magazine, so anxious is finely reared Polly Jordan (Terry) to go on a visit in the west that Polly (Pitts) persuades her brother Philip (Gordon) to take her. Dr. Winthrop Newbury (Forrest) promises to stay and protect her, but is called away due to an accident. Three rough intoxicated strangers returning from a fiesta see Ruth and led by Dutch (Beery) break in to get her. In desperation, Ruth picks out one of the other strangers, Stephen Ghent (Tearle), and offers him her life if he will save her from any assault, which he does. This sobers him up and, when he insists that she stand by her promise, she keeps her bargain, and he takes her away and they are married. He takes her to his valuable mine, which he has neglected, and he tries through his work and homelife to win her love, but she remains disgusted with him. Her brother Philip trails them and visits, and although Ruth is ashamed of her situation, she makes it appear that all is OK. Seeing that something is wrong, Philip takes her back home. Stephen keeps away as long as he can, then goes to see her, but she repulses him and falls in a swoon. At the risk of his life, Stephen crosses a flooded canyon to get the doctor, and their son is born. Still Ruth refuses to forgive him, even though others plead with her. Finally, she blurts out the truth of how they met and were married, and her brother a gun intending to shoot Stephen. Seeing him in danger awakens her love for him, resulting in a happy resolution.

Cast

Production

Much of ''The Great Divide'' was filmed in and around the

Grand Canyon National Park Grand Canyon National Park, located in northwestern Arizona, is the 15th site in the United States to have been named as a national park. The park's central feature is the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, which is often consider ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

Reception

The film made a profit of $115,000.

Status

Previously thought lost, a copy was located in the Cinemateket-Svenska Filminstitutet in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

.The Library of Congress/FIAF American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: ''The Great Divide'' (1925)
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References

External links

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at silenthollywood.com
Music program to the film
{{DEFAULTSORT:Great Divide, The 1925 films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films American silent feature films 1925 drama films Films directed by Reginald Barker American black-and-white films Silent American drama films 1920s rediscovered films Rediscovered American films 1920s American films 1920s English-language films English-language drama films