''The Only Way'' is a 1926 British drama film directed by

Herbert Wilcox Herbert Sydney Wilcox Order of the British Empire, CBE (19 April 1890 – 15 May 1977) was a British film producer and film director, director. He was one of the most successful British filmmakers from the 1920s to the 1950s. He is best know ...

and starring

John Martin Harvey Sir John Martin-Harvey (22 June 1863 – 14 May 1944), known before his knighthood in 1921 as John Martin Harvey, was an English stage actor-manager. Born in Bath Street, Wivenhoe, Essex, he was the son of John Harvey, a yacht-designer and ...

Madge Stuart Madge Stuart (5 August 1895, in Holmesfield, Derbyshire – 10 October 1958, in Monte Carlo, Monaco) was a British actress of the silent era. She married Dion Titheradge in 1928. Selected filmography * '' Nature's Gentleman'' (1918) * '' The ...

and Betty Faire. It was adapted from the play ''The Only Way'' which was itself based on the 1859 novel ''

A Tale of Two Cities ''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a historical novel published in 1859 by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long imprisonment in the ...

'' by

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

. John Martin Harvey had been playing Carton in the play since 1899 and it was his most popular work. It cost £24,000 to make and was shot at

Twickenham Studios Twickenham Studios (formerly known as Twickenham Film Studios) is a film studio in St Margarets, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, that is used by various motion picture and television companies. It was established in 1913 by Ralph ...

.Low p.134 The film was a commercial success and reportedly took over £53,000 in its first two years on release. It was a particularly notable achievement given the collapse in British film production between the Slump of 1924 and the passage of the

Cinematograph Films Act 1927 The Cinematograph Films Act of 1927 ('' 17 & 18 Geo. V'') was an act of the United Kingdom Parliament designed to stimulate the declining British film industry. It received Royal Assent on 20 December 1927 and came into force on 1 April 1928. D ...

designed to support British film making.

Synopsis

In 1770s France Doctor Manette is witness to the rape of a young woman Jeanne Defarge and the murder of her and brother Jacques by the powerful

Marquis A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

d'Evremonde. In order to silence Manette, d'Evremonde arranges to have him locked away in the infamous Bastille Prison where he remains for over a decade. Manette's young daughter is able to be spirited out of the country to England by her guardian the British banker Jarvis Lorry, where she is brought up by Miss Pross. Ernest Defarge swears vengeance on d'Evremonde and will not rest until the entire family has been wiped out. Many years later Doctor Manette is released. His time in the Bastille has left him institutionalised and he initially finds it hard to adjust to life outside the prison. Jarvis Lorry and Manette's now-grown daughter Lucy come to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

to escort him to England. On the journey back they encounter a young man named Charles Darnay, who is the son of Marquis d'Evremonde, fleeing France because his liberal views clash with those of his father. Darnay and Lucy soon fall in love, but their hopes of marriage are threatened when Darnay is arrested on his arrival in England for

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...

and

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

as an alleged French spy. Darnay's accuser is the unscrupulous Barsad, who is himself in the pay of the French government. Darnay's defence case is worked on by an dissolute Englishman, Sidney Carton, whose young idealism has given way to a self-loathing cynicism. Carton bears a striking resemblance to Darnay and uses this in court to discredit Barsad's evidence in court, by raising doubts over Barsad's claims that he clearly saw and heard Darnay talking treason. Darnay is acquitted, and he plans to marry Lucy. Carton is befriended by Lucy, and developing an unrequited attachment for her, he tries to mend his ways and give up his heavy drinking. In France, the oppression of the poor finally drives them to breaking point and the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

breaks out. Evremonde, who has been particularly exploitative of his tenants, is murdered in his bed by Ernest Defarge and Charles Darnay inherits his title as Marquis. Desperate to get their hands on the new aristocrat, Defarge and his colleagues trick Darnay into returning to France to assist an old faithful family servant who is now in trouble. Darnay is arrested and accused of being both an aristocrat and a British spy. Carton has traveled to Paris with Lucy, Lorry and others to try to help Darnay. He pleads Darnay's case and points out how liberal his views are and how he hated his father. He adds by pointing out that Darnay had been accused of treason in Britain and was hated there, to discredit the accusation of espionage. Darnay is released, but Defarge is determined to wipe out the last of the d'Evremondes. He has Darnay re-arrested after producing an ancient letter written by Doctor Manette condemning all Evremondes and this shifts the court against Darnay, who is sentenced to be executed by

guillotine A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at th ...

. Realising that Darnay is now facing almost certain death, Carton hatches an outlandish plan to switch places with him based on their facial similarities. He bribes his way into the prison, smuggles Darnay out and takes his place in the condemned cell. In sparing Darnay's life, and securing Lucy's happiness, Carton is able to restore his long vanished sense of self-worth. The following day, while Lucy and Darnay escape safely from Paris, he goes to his death calmly and at peace with himself and the world The film, like the play, adds a character named Mimi who is a young

waif A waif (from the Old French ''guaif'', "stray beast")Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/waif (accessed: June 02, 2008) is a person removed, by hardship, loss or other helpless circumstance ...

who is rescued by Carton and works in his house. She becomes devoted to him and elects to die on the guillotine with him after killing Ernest Defarge in self-defence.

Cast

– Sydney Carton *

– Mimi * Betty Faire – Lucy Manette *

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Career Early life and career A native of Kansas City, Missouri, he studied violin, learned how to play blues on the piano from ...

– Marquis d'Evremonde *

J. Fisher White Joseph John Fisher White (1 May 1865 – 14 January 1945) was a British stage and film actor. The eldest of four sons of Rev. John White, of Ampfield, of that family formerly of Hursley, by his wife Martha, daughter of Rev. John Fisher, he took ...

– Manette * Frederick Cooper – Darnay *

Mary Brough Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

– Miss Pross * Frank Stanmore – Jarvis Lorry *

Gibb McLaughlin George McLoughlin (19 July 1879 – 30 June 1961), known professionally as Gibb McLaughlin, was an English film and stage actor. Early days McLaughlin was born in Sunderland, County Durham, England in 1879. For about 10 years he was a sale ...

– Barsad * Gordon McLeod – Ernest Defarge * Jean Jay – Jeanne Defarge *

Margaret Yarde Margaret Yarde (2 April 1878 – 11 March 1944) was a British actress. Initially training to be an opera singer, she made her London stage debut in 1907. She often played domestics, landladies and mothers. Filmography * '' A Cigarette-Maker's ...

– The Vengeance *

Judd Green Judd Green (also credited as R. Judd Green; 1866–1932) was a British film actor of the silent era. He was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire in 1866 and made his first screen appearance in 1914. Selected filmography * '' The Third String'' (1914) * ...

– Prosecutor *

Fred Rains Frederick William Rains (c. 1860 – 3 December 1945) was a British actor and film director. He was the father of the actor Claude Rains. Selected filmography Actor * '' The Broken Melody'' (1916) * '' The New Clown'' (1916) * ''The Marriag ...

– President *

Jack Raymond Jack Raymond (1886–1953) was an English actor and film director. Born in Wimborne, Dorset in 1886, he began acting before the First World War in '' A Detective for a Day''. In 1921 he directed his first film and gradually he wound down his a ...

– Jacques

Production

Wilcox says he made the film after "a period of unimpressive films". He bought the rights to the play and had John Martin Harvey to reprise his stage role. "It was a unique experience, since Martin Harvey was the finest actor I had directed up to that time," wrote Wilcox.Wilcox p 62 The film reportedly went £5,000 over budget.

Reception

Wilcox wrote "I was inundated with congratulations and praise for my direction. But, remembering the hard lesson of the praise lavished on ''The Wonderful Story'' critical success which had floppedI took no risks and put all my knowledge of showmanship into presenting it." Wilcox arranged a gala premiere at the London Hippodrome.Wilcox p 63 The film later resulted in a lawsuit involving block booking.

References

Bibliography

* Low, Rachel. ''The History of British Film: Volume IV, 1918–1929''. Routledge, 1997. *Wilcox, Herbert, ''Twenty Five Thousand Sunsets'', 1967

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Only Way 1927 films British historical drama films British silent feature films 1920s historical drama films 1920s English-language films Films directed by Herbert Wilcox Films set in London Films set in Paris British films based on plays Films based on A Tale of Two Cities Films set in the 1770s Films set in the 1780s Films set in the 1790s French Revolution films Films based on British novels Films about capital punishment Films based on adaptations British black-and-white films 1927 drama films 1920s British films Silent drama films