''The Lost Chord'' 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

Wilfred Noy Wilfred Noy (born Wilfred Noy Blumberg, 24 December 1883 – 29 March 1948) was an English film director, actor, screenwriter and producer of the silent era. Noy was the maternal uncle of Leslie Howard.Eforgan, Estel. Leslie Howard: The Los ...

and starring David Powell,

Alice Lake Alice Lake (September 12, 1895 – November 15, 1967) was an American film actress. She began her career during the silent film era and often appeared in comedy shorts opposite Roscoe Arbuckle. Career Born in Brooklyn, New York, Lake began her ...

, and

Dagmar Godowsky Mercedes Dagmar Godowsky (November 24, 1897 – February 13, 1975) was an American silent film actress. Biography Mercedes Dagmar Godowsky was born in Chicago, Illinois, on November 24, 1897, the daughter of Polish-Jewish composer Leopold Godow ...

. It is based on

Arthur Sullivan Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinaf ...

's 1877 song "

The Lost Chord "The Lost Chord" is a song composed by Arthur Sullivan in 1877 at the bedside of his brother Fred during Fred's last illness. The manuscript is dated 13 January 1877; Fred Sullivan died five days later. The lyric was written as a poem by Adel ...

." Noy had previously made the film in Great Britain in 1917 and this

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...

marked his American debut.

Plot

As described in a review in a film magazine, Arnold Grahme (Powell), celebrated organist, returning from abroad finds that his sweetheart, Madeline (Lake), has married Count Zara, who treats her brutally and has an affair with his "cousin," Pauline (Godowsky). Zara, jealous of Arnold, provokes a quarrel and in a duel fought later in Italy is killed by Arnold. Pauline in the meantime has persuaded Zara to kidnap his little daughter, Pauline. Madeline goes to a convent, Arnold tries to persuade her to marry him, and finally, speaking to her through his music, she agrees, but falls dead. Arnold’s nephew, Jack (Mack), quarrels with his chorus girl sweetheart Joan (Binney) and goes away. Arnold becomes interested in this girl because of her beautiful voice, falls in love with her and discovers she is Madeline's child. He proposes and is accepted, but the return of Jack reveals the fact that the young couple are in love with each other. Arnold sacrifices his own love that they may be happy, and while seeking solace at the organ the spirit of Madeline tells him "The Lost Chord" is the song of sacrifice the angels sing.

Cast

* David Powell as Arnold Grahme *

as Madeline, Countess Zara *

as Pauline Zara * Henry Sedley as Count Zara *

Faire Binney Frederica "Faire" Binney (August 24, 1900 – August 28, 1957) her name pronounced like the country ''Zaire'', was an American stage and film actress.Soister, Nicolella & Joyce p.732 Biography Born Frederica Binney in Morristown, New Jersey, sh ...

as Joan *

Louise Carter Louise Carter (born Betty-Lee Carter; March 17, 1875 – November 10, 1957) was an American stage and film actress. She appeared in 48 films between 1924 and 1940, mostly in maternal supporting roles. Among her roles were the mother of Paul Muni ...

as Phyllis * Charles W. Mack as Jack Brown (credited as Charles Mack) * Dorothy Kingdon as Helene Brown * Samuel E. Hines as Arthur Ames (credited as Samuel Hines) * Signor N. Salerno as Levina * Rita Maurice as Baby Joan

Preservation

With no prints of ''The Lost Chord'' located in any film archives,The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: ''The Lost Chord''
/ref> it is 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 ...

References

Bibliography

* Munden, Kenneth White. ''The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States, Part 1''. University of California Press, 1997.

External links

* * 1925 films 1925 drama films Silent American drama films American silent feature films 1920s English-language films Films directed by Wilfred Noy American black-and-white films American remakes of British films Lost American drama films 1925 lost films English-language drama films Arrow Film Corporation films 1920s American films {{1920s-silent-drama-film-stub