''The American Prisoner'' is a 1929 British

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 ...

directed by

Thomas Bentley Thomas Bentley (23 February 1884 – 23 December 1966) was a British film director. He directed 68 films between 1912 and 1941. He directed three films in the early DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process, ''The Man in the Street'' (1926), '' ...

and starring

Carl Brisson Carl Brisson (24 December 1893 – 25 September 1958), born Carl Frederik Ejnar Pedersen, was a Danish film actor and singer. He appeared in 13 films between 1918 and 1935, including two silent films directed by Alfred Hitchcock. In the 1934 ...

Madeleine Carroll Edith Madeleine Carroll (26 February 1906 – 2 October 1987) was an English actress, popular both in Britain and America in the 1930s and 1940s. At the peak of her success in 1938, she was the world's highest-paid actress. Carroll is rememb ...

and Cecil Barry. It was adapted from the 1904 novel '' The American Prisoner'' by Eden Phillpotts. It was originally conceived as a

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

, but was converted into a

Talkie A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...

in line with widespread practice at

British International Pictures Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC), originally British International Pictures (BIP), was a British film production, distribution and exhibition company active from 1927 until 1970 when it was absorbed into EMI. ABPC also owned appr ...

during 1928–1929.Low p.117

Premise

An American sailor imprisoned on

Dartmoor Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite which forms the uplands dates from the Carboniferous P ...

during the American War of Independence manages to escape and fall in love with a local

Squire In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight. Use of the term evolved over time. Initially, a squire served as a knight's apprentice. Later, a village leader or a lord of the manor might come to be known as a ...

's daughter.

Cast

as Lt. Stark *

as Grace Malherb *Cecil Barry as Peter Norcutt * Carl Harbord as Lt. Burnham * A. Bromley Davenport as Squire Malherb *

Nancy Price Nancy Price, CBE (3 February 1880 – 31 March 1970), was an English actress on stage and screen, author and theatre director. Her acting career began in a repertory theatre company before progressing to the London stage, silent films, talkies a ...

as Lovey Lee * Reginald Fox as Captain Mainwaring *Charles Ashton as Carberry *

Harry Terry Harry Terry (born 1887, date of death unknown) was an English stage and film actor. He made his stage debut in 1900, and appeared in more than 60 films between 1927 and 1952, including two films directed by Alfred Hitchcock. He was born in Lond ...

as Bosun Knapps *John Valentine as Commander Miller * Robert English as Col. Governor *Edward Dignon as Leverett

References

Bibliography

*Low, Rachael. ''The History of the British Film 1929-1939: Film Making in 1930s Britain''. George Allen & Unwin, 1985.

External links

* 1929 films British historical drama films Films shot at British International Pictures Studios 1920s English-language films Films based on British novels Films directed by Thomas Bentley 1920s historical drama films Films set in the 18th century Films set in Devon British black-and-white films 1929 drama films American Revolutionary War films 1920s British films {{1920s-UK-film-stub