''The Silver King'' is a 1929 British
silent drama film directed by
T. Hayes Hunter
Thomas Hayes Hunter (December 1, 1884 – April 14, 1944) was an American film director and producer of the silent era. He directed a total of 34 films between 1912 and 1934.
Early career
Hayes was born on December 1, 1884, in Philadelphia ...
and starring
Percy Marmont,
Harold Huth and
Chili Bouchier. The film is an adaptation of the 1882 play ''
The Silver King'' by
Henry Arthur Jones. It was made at
Cricklewood Studios and
Lime Grove Studios
Lime Grove Studios was a film, and later television, studio complex in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England.
The complex was built by the Gaumont Film Company in 1915. It was situated in Lime Grove, a residential street in Shepherd's Bush, and ...
. The film was an ambitious production by the
Welsh-Pearson company made at an estimated cost of around £60,000. However the company's decision to shoot it and other films that year as
silents led to large financial losses due to the emergence of
sound.
[Low p.163-64]
Plot
Wilfred Denver (Marmont) wins the heart of the beautiful Nellie (Jean Jay) and marries her, earning the ongoing festering resentment of Nellie's former beau Geoffrey Ware (Huth). A few years later, Wilfred and Nellie have a daughter, but Wilfred's financial recklessness has left him facing large debts. Geoffrey sees an opportunity for revenge by giving his desperate former friend a surefire insiders' tip on a horse running at generous odds in that year's
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, also known as the Epsom Derby or the Derby, and as the Cazoo Derby for sponsorship reasons, is a Group 1 flat horse race in England open to three-year-old colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey o ...
. Wilfred lays a large bet which he can ill afford, only to watch in dismay as the horse straggles home at the back of the field. Geoffrey feigns an apology, then urges Wilfred to drown his sorrows. He gets Wilfred completely befuddled and dishevelled with drink, then takes him home to Nellie, gloating to her about the dissolute wretch she chose over him.
As Geoffrey makes his way home later that evening, he is robbed and murdered by a band of crooks. The police learn of the events of the day and interview Wilfred, who is unable to provide a satisfactory account of his movements that evening. Realising that he faces arrest, trial and possible execution, Wilfred flees to America, leaving Nellie behind to fend for herself and their child as best she can.
Years pass, and Wilfred hits the jackpot in America with a silver mine. Now a rich man known to all as the "Silver King", he returns to England incognito. He sets about investigating the circumstances of Geoffrey's murder, and identifies the guilty individuals. He takes his evidence to the police, who exonerate him of all charges. He then engineers a reconciliation with Nellie and their now grown daughter Olive (
Chili Bouchier).
Cast
*
Percy Marmont as Wilfred Denver
*
Harold Huth as Geoffrey Ware
*
Jean Jay
Charlotte Francis (birth name Charlotte Frances Jiggens born 1904) was an English actress best known for playing the lead role in the Australian film ''The Silence of Dean Maitland'' (1934) in which she appeared opposite her husband John Longden. ...
as Nellie Denver
*
Chili Bouchier as Olive
*
Bernard Nedell as 'Spider' Skinner
*
Hugh E. Wright
Hugh E. Wright (13 April 1879 – 12 February 1940) was a French-born, British actor and screenwriter. He was the father of actor Tony Wright.
Musical theatre
*'' Charlot Revue'' (1925), as both lyricist (one song) and actor
*''Houp La!'' (19 ...
as Jaikes
*
Henry Wenman as Cripps
*
Ben Field as Coombes
* Donald Stuart as Corkitt
References
Bibliography
* Low, Rachael. ''History of the British Film, 1918-1929''. George Allen & Unwin, 1971.
External links
*
''The Silver King''at BFI Film & TV Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silver King, The
1929 films
1929 drama films
British silent feature films
British drama films
Films directed by T. Hayes Hunter
British black-and-white films
British films based on plays
Films shot at Cricklewood Studios
Films shot at Lime Grove Studios
1920s British films
Silent drama films
1920s English-language films