''The Yellow Ticket'' is a 1931

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorshi ...

American

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 ...

based on the 1914

play of the same name Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

by Michael Morton, produced by the

Fox Film Corporation The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American Independent film production studio formed by William Fox (1879–1952) in 1915, by combining his earlier Greater New York Film Rental Company and Box Office Attractions Film ...

, directed by

Raoul Walsh Raoul Walsh (born Albert Edward Walsh; March 11, 1887December 31, 1980) was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), and the brother of silent screen actor George Walsh. He w ...

, and starring

Elissa Landi Elissa Landi (born Elisabeth Marie Christine Kühnelt; December 6, 1904 – October 21, 1948) was an Austrian-American actress born in Venice, who was popular as a performer in Hollywood films of the 1920s and 1930s. She was noted for her a ...

Lionel Barrymore Lionel Barrymore (born Lionel Herbert Blythe; April 28, 1878 – November 15, 1954) was an American actor of stage, screen and radio as well as a film director. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''A Free Soul'' (1931) ...

and

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the Theatre of the U ...

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established h ...

appears briefly in a small supporting role. The

picture An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...

is also a noteworthy example of productions from the pre-Code era in that it includes brief

nudity Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to ...

. The original play, presented on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

, ran from January to June 1914 and starred Lionel's younger brother

John Barrymore John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly att ...

opposite

Florence Reed Florence Reed (January 10, 1883 – November 21, 1967) was an American stage and film actress. She is remembered for several outstanding stage productions, including ''The Shanghai Gesture'', ''The Lullaby'', ''The Yellow Ticket'' and ''The ...

. This film is the third American adaptation of the play. The first two are ''

The Yellow Passport ''The Yellow Passport'' is a lost 1916 silent film drama produced and distributed by the World Film Company. Based on Michael Morton's 1914 Broadway play of the same title, it was directed by Edwin August and starred Clara Kimball Young. On the ...

'' from 1916 and ''

The Yellow Ticket ''The Yellow Ticket'' is a 1931 pre-Code American drama film based on the 1914 play of the same name by Michael Morton, produced by the Fox Film Corporation, directed by Raoul Walsh, and starring Elissa Landi, Lionel Barrymore and Laurence ...

'' from 1918. A German version, ''

Der Gelbe Schein ''Der Gelbe Schein'' (English titles ''The Yellow Ticket'' and ''The Devil's Pawn'') is a 1918 German silent film starring Pola Negri in a double role as Lea and her mother Lydia, Victor Janson as Ossip Storki, and Harry Liedtke as Dimitri. It w ...

'', was also filmed and released in 1918.

Plot

When

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

is declared in Russia, all Jews are restricted to their villages. The authorities are unsympathetic to Marya (Elissa Landi), who desperately wants to travel to

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

to see her dying father. Marya learns that a special card, called "the

yellow ticket Yellow ticket, yellow passport or yellow card"Three Centuries of Ru ...

", is issued to

prostitutes Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

and allows them to travel freely. Marya manages to get a yellow ticket. In St. Petersburg, Baron Andrey (Lionel Barrymore), a corrupt police official, prevents his lecherous nephew, Captain Nikolai, from forcing himself on Marya. She later meets Julian (Laurence Olivier), a British journalist, and tells him about injustices the government has kept him from learning about, including the yellow ticket. When Julian's articles are published, Andrey, a womanizer, guesses that Marya has been giving him information.

Cast

as Marya Kalish *

as Baron Igor Andrey *

as Julian Rolfe *

Walter Byron Jacob Walter "Wally" Byron (Jacob Valdimar Björnsson;September 2, 1894 – December 22, 1971) was an Icelandic-Canadian ice hockey player who competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics. He was the goaltender for the Winnipeg Falcons, the Canadian ...

as Count Nikolai *

Arnold Korff Arnold Peter Kirsch-Korff (2 August 1870 – 2 June 1944) was an Austrian-born American Hollywood actor and director. He appeared in a number of German and Austrian films before moving to the United States and resuming his career in America. He m ...

as Grandfather Kalish *

Mischa Auer Mischa Auer (born Mikhail Semyonovich Unkovsky (Михаил Семёнович Унковский; 17 November 1905 – 5 March 1967) was a Russians, Russian-born American actor who moved to Hollywood in the late 1920s. He first appeared in fi ...

as Melchior * Edwin Maxwell as Police Agent *

Rita La Roy Rita La Roy (born Ina La Roi Stuart; October 2, 1901 – February 18, 1993) was an American actress and dancer, beginning her career in 1929, and having her last significant role in 1940. Career La Roy appeared in over 50 films, the best k ...

as Fania Rubinstein * Sarah Padden as Mother Kalish *

as Orderly

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yellow Ticket, The 1931 films 1931 drama films Fox Film films American drama films American black-and-white films Remakes of American films Films directed by Raoul Walsh Films scored by Hugo Friedhofer Films with screenplays by Jules Furthman Films about Jews and Judaism Films set in 1913 Films set in 1914 Films set in Russia Sound film remakes of silent films 1930s American films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links