''The Lane That Had No Turning'' is a

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

1922 American silent

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 ...

that was directed by

Victor Fleming Victor Lonzo Fleming (February 23, 1889 – January 6, 1949) was an American film director, cinematographer, and producer. His most popular films were ''Gone with the Wind (film), Gone with the Wind'', for which he won an Academy Award for Best ...

. It was produced by

Famous Players-Lasky Famous Players-Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company formed on June 28, 1916, from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company—originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays—and t ...

and released through

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

. It is based on the short novel with the same title by

Gilbert Parker Sir Horatio Gilbert George Parker, 1st Baronet (23 November 1862 – 6 September 1932), known as Gilbert Parker, Canadian novelist and British politician, was born at Camden East, Addington, Ontario, the son of Captain Joseph Parker, R.A. Ed ...

,The AFI Catalog of Feature Films: ''The Lane That Had No Turning''
/ref> which is included as the title story of Parker's 1900 collection ''

The Lane that Had No Turning, and Other Tales Concerning the People of Pontiac ''The Lane that Had No Turning, and Other Tales Concerning the People of Pontiac'' is a collection of short stories by Gilbert Parker, published in 1900 by Doubleday, Page & Co. and also that same year by Heinemann in London and by the Canadian pu ...

''.

The Lane That Had No Turning 1922 newspaperad

Plot

As described in a

film magazine Film periodicals combine discussion of individual films, genres and directors with in-depth considerations of the medium and the conditions of its production and reception. Their articles contrast with film reviewing in newspapers and magazines whi ...

, in the village of Pontiac, Madelinette (Ayres) has married Louis Racine (Kosloff). At the wedding announcement, since her father the former Seigneur of Pontiac died intestate and no will could be found, Madelinette is to receive $10,000 so she can continue her operatic studies. Tardiff (Campeau), a former servant of the Seigneur, mocks Louis' new title and hints that a will is hidden somewhere and is certain to be found. Tardiff's interruption of the festivities results in a fight in which Louis is flung against a tree and injured. The injuries are such that Louis eventually becomes a

hunchback Kyphosis is an abnormally excessive convex curvature of the spine as it occurs in the thoracic and sacral regions. Abnormal inward concave ''lordotic'' curving of the cervical and lumbar regions of the spine is called lordosis. It can result fr ...

, and he fears in his heart that his young and beautiful wife will turn from him when she returns from her operatic success in Europe. When Madelinette does return from her tour, she is horrified by the deformity on her unhappy husband's back, but decides to give up her career to be with him and keep him happy. She later discovers the lost will and, while hiding it again, is seen by Tardiff, who steals it and carries it to the real heir of the estate. On her plea, the real heir, Englishman George Fournel (Hamilton), destroys the document. Tardiff hastens to Louis and whispers malicious statements about his wife Madelinette and the Englishman. A double tragedy ensues when Louis kills Tardiff and then, to escape pursuers, takes his own life. Later, a romance springs up between Madelinette and George and they are married.

Cast

Agnes Ayres Agnes Ayres (born Agnes Henkel; April 4, 1896 – December 25, 1940) was an American actress who rose to fame during the silent film era. She was known for her role as Lady Diana Mayo in '' The Sheik'' opposite Rudolph Valentino. Career Ayres b ...

as Madelinette *

Theodore Kosloff Theodore Kosloff (born Fyodor Mikhailovich Kozlov, russian: Фёдор Михайлович Козлов; January 22, 1882 – November 22, 1956) was a Russian-born ballet dancer, choreographer, and film and stage actor. He was occasionally cr ...

as Louis Racine *

Mahlon Hamilton Mahlon Preston Hamilton, Jr. (June 15, 1880 – June 20, 1960), was an American stage and screen actor. He was the son of a bartender born in Baltimore, Maryland, the eldest of four children, with the rest of the siblings being girls. Census ...

as George Fournel *

Wilton Taylor Wilton Taylor (1869 – January 24, 1925) was an American stage and silent screen actor. He usually played gruff men of authority like wardens, judges or the police commissioner in Tod Browning's '' Outside the Law'' (1920). Of some other su ...

as Joe Lajeunesse *

Frank Campeau Frank Campeau (December 14, 1864 – November 5, 1943) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 90 films between 1911 and 1940 and made many appearances in films starring Douglas Fairbanks. On Broadway, Campeau appeared in ''Rio Gr ...

as Tardiff *

Lillian Leighton Lillianne Brown Leighton (May 17, 1874 – March 19, 1956), known professionally as Lillian Leighton, was an American silent film actress. Leighton started her career in Chicago. Leighton was born in Auroraville, Wisconsin, on May 17, 187 ...

as Marie * Charles West as Havel *

Robert Bolder Robert Bolder (20 July 1859 – 10 December 1937) was an English film actor of the silent film, silent era. He appeared in more than 120 films between 1912 and 1936. He was born in London and died in Los Angeles, California. In the early par ...

as Monsieur Poire * Fred Vroom as the Governor General (credited as Frederick Vroom)

References

External links

* * 1922 films American black-and-white films Films based on works by Gilbert Parker Films directed by Victor Fleming Silent American drama films American silent feature films 1922 drama films Lost American films Films based on short fiction 1922 lost films Lost drama films 1920s American films {{1920s-silent-drama-film-stub