''Their Own Desire'' is a 1929 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the 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 censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

romantic drama film directed by E. Mason Hopper and starring

Norma Shearer Edith Norma Shearer (August 11, 1902June 12, 1983) was a Canadian-American actress who was active on film from 1919 through 1942. Shearer often played spunky, sexually liberated ingénues. She appeared in adaptations of Noël Coward, Eugene O'N ...

Belle Bennett Belle Bennett (born Ara Belle Bennett; April 22, 1891 – November 4, 1932), was a stage and screen actress who started her career as a child as a circus performer. She later performed in theater and films. Early life and career Bennett was ...

Lewis Stone Lewis Shepard Stone (November 15, 1879 – September 12, 1953) was an American film actor. He spent 29 years as a contract player at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and was best known for his portrayal of Judge James Hardy in the studio's popular ''Andy H ...

, Robert Montgomery, and Helene Millard. The film was adapted by James Forbes and

Frances Marion Frances Marion (born Marion Benson Owens, November 18, 1888 – May 12, 1973) was an American screenwriter, director, journalist and author often cited as one of the most renowned female screenwriters of the 20th century alongside June Mathis a ...

from the novel by Sarita Fuller; Lucille Newmark wrote the titles. It is also the last MGM film in the 1920s. Shearer was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Actress The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year ...

, but lost to herself for ''

The Divorcee ''The Divorcee'' is a 1930 American pre-Code drama film written by Nick Grindé, John Meehan, and Zelda Sears, based on the 1929 novel ''Ex-Wife'' by Ursula Parrott. It was directed by Robert Z. Leonard, who was nominated for the Academy ...

''.

Premise

A young woman is upset by the knowledge that her father is divorcing her mother in order to marry another woman. Her own feelings change, however, when she falls in love with a young man who turns out to be the son of her father's new love.

Cast

as Lucia 'Lally' Marlett *

as Harriet Marlett *

as Henry Marlett * Robert Montgomery as John Douglas Cheever *

Helene Millard Helene Millard (September 30, 1905 – September 20, 1974) was an American supporting actress of the 1930s and 1940s. Millard began acting on stage in Los Angeles when she was in the seventh grade. Millard left the Pasadena Players in July 19 ...

as Beth Cheever *

Cecil Cunningham Edna Cecil Cunningham (August 2, 1888 – April 17, 1959) was an American film and stage actress, singer, and comedienne. Early years Cunningham started her working life as a switchboard operator in a commerce bank and did some sittings as a ...

as Aunt Caroline Elrick *

Henry Hebert Henry Herbert (c. 1879 – 20 February 1947) was an English film, stage actor and producer, who became well known in the United States. Biography Herbert appears to have commenced his early career with Ben Greet's Company, and with Sir Fran ...

as Uncle Nate Elrick *

Mary Doran Mary Doran (September 8, 1910 – September 6, 1995) was an American actress. She appeared in more than 80 films from 1927 to 1944. Biography Doran was born in New York and attended public schools there before graduating and going to Colum ...

as Suzanne Elrick *

June Nash June C. Nash (May 30, 1927 – December 9, 2019) was a social and feminist anthropologist and Distinguished Professor Emerita at the City University of New York (CUNY). She conducted extensive field work throughout the United States and Lati ...

as Mildred Elrick * Joseph E. Bernard as Doctor (uncredited) *

Bess Flowers Bess Flowers (November 23, 1898 – July 28, 1984) was an American actress best known for her work as an extra in hundreds of films. She was known as "The Queen of the Hollywood Extras," appearing in more than 350 feature films and numerou ...

as Miriam, a Polo Player / Snooty Dinner Guest (uncredited) * Isabelle Keith as Isabelle, a Polo Player / Snooty Dinner Guest (uncredited) *

Kane Richmond Kane Richmond (born Frederick William Bowditch, December 23, 1906 – March 22, 1973) was an American film actor of the 1930s and 1940s, mostly appearing in cliffhangers and serials. He is best known today for his portrayal of the character L ...

as Man at the Resort (uncredited) *

Oscar Rudolph Oscar Rudolph (April 2, 1911 – February 1, 1991) was an American film and television director, producer, and actor. Life and career Rudolph was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and in 1924 moved to Southern California with his family. He started hi ...

as Man at the Resort (uncredited)

Production

The pool scenes in which John Cheever meets Lally Marlett for the first time were filmed at the Norconian Resort Supreme competition diving and swimming pools. While the diving boards and three diving platforms are long gone, the two Norconian pools are still intact, though worse for wear as of 2008, in the middle of what is now the California Rehabilitation Center in

Norco, California Norco is a city in Riverside County, California, in the United States. Norco is known as Horsetown, USA and prides itself on being a "horse community," with horse trails, hitching posts, and corrals, and city ordinances requiring construction to ...

References

External links

* *
Shearer vs. Shearer: ''The Divorcee'' (1930) and ''Their Own Desire'' (1929)
with stills 1929 films American black-and-white films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films American romantic drama films Films directed by E. Mason Hopper 1929 romantic drama films Films with screenplays by Frances Marion 1920s English-language films 1920s American films {{1920s-romantic-drama-film-stub