''Betrayal'' is a 1929 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 ...

produced for

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 ...

and released by Paramount Pictures. The film is the last

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) ...

directed by

Lewis Milestone Lewis Milestone (born Leib Milstein (Russian: Лейб Мильштейн); September 30, 1895 – September 25, 1980) was a Moldovan-American film director. He is known for directing '' Two Arabian Knights'' (1927) and ''All Quiet on the Weste ...

, the last silent performance by

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, ...

, the last silent performance by

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Emil Jannings Emil Jannings (born Theodor Friedrich Emil Janenz, 23 July 1884 – 2 January 1950) was a Swiss born German actor, popular in the 1920s in Hollywood. He was the first recipient of the Academy Award for Best Actor for his roles in '' The La ...

, and the only onscreen pairing of Cooper and Jannings. It is considered a

lost film A lost film is a feature Feature may refer to: Computing * Feature (CAD), could be a hole, pocket, or notch * Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob * Feature (software design) is an intentional distinguishing char ...

Plot

Swiss peasant girl Vroni (

Esther Ralston Esther Ralston (born Esther Louise Worth, September 17, 1902 – January 14, 1994) was an iconic American silent film star. Her most prominent sound picture was '' To the Last Man'' in 1933. Early life and career Ralston was born Esther Loui ...

) is having a secret summer romance with

Viennese Viennese may refer to: * Vienna, the capital of Austria * Viennese people, List of people from Vienna * Viennese German, the German dialect spoken in Vienna * Music of Vienna, musical styles in the city * Viennese Waltz, genre of ballroom dance * V ...

artist Andre Frey (

). When Andre later returns to Switzerland, he learns that Vroni has been forced to marry wealthy

burgomeister Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, literally "master of the town, master of the borough, master of the fortress, master of the citizens") is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief ...

Poldi Moser (

). Explaining Andre's appearance, Vroni introduces him as a young man who has just lost his sweetheart, and in sympathy, Poldi invites Andre to be a guest in his house. Several times over the next few years Andre visits, during which time Poldi and Vroni have two children. Andre is overwrought by his repressed feelings toward Vroni, and after seven years, begs her to run off with him. She refuses, but agrees to one last tryst. While speeding down a dangerous run on a

toboggan A toboggan is a simple sled traditionally used by children. It is also a traditional form of transport used by the Innu and Cree of northern Canada. In modern times, it is used on snow to carry one or more people (often children) down a hill ...

together, Vroni is killed and Andre fatally injured. Poldi learns the truth of the relationship while attending Vroni's funeral, and swears vengeance but discovers that Andre has died from the severity of his injuries.

Cast

as Poldi Moser *

as Vroni *

as Andre Frey *

Douglas Haig Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, (; 19 June 1861 – 29 January 1928) was a senior officer of the British Army. During the First World War, he commanded the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front from late 1915 until ...

as Peter * Jada Weller as Hans *

Bodil Rosing Bodil Rosing (born Bodil Frederikke Hammerich; December 27, 1877 December 31, 1941) was a Danish-American film actress in the silent and sound eras. Early years Bodil Hammerich was born in Copenhagen, the daughter of music dean Angel Hammeri ...

as Andre's Mother *

Ann Brody Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in th ...

* Paul Guertzman *

Leone Lane Leone Hallie Lane (November 17, 1908 – March 28, 1993) was an American actress of the silent film era and the time of the early sound films. Biography Leone Hallie Lane was born on November 17, 1908, in Boston, Massachusetts. She was an ac ...

Production

Filmed at locations near Lake Tahoe, the film was intended to be a "

part-talkie A part-talkie is a partly, and most often primarily, silent film which includes one or more synchronous sound sequences with audible dialog or singing. During the silent portions, lines of dialog are presented as "titles"—printed text briefly ...

" and incorporated talking sequences, synchronized music, and sound effects, but because of Jannings's heavy German accent and the poor recording of Ralston's voice, it was released as a silent.

References

External links

* *
Lobby card
{{DEFAULTSORT:Betrayal (1929 Film) 1929 films Silent American drama films American silent feature films 1920s English-language films American black-and-white films Films directed by Lewis Milestone Paramount Pictures films Famous Players-Lasky films Films set in Switzerland Films set in the Alps Lost American films Transitional sound drama films 1929 drama films 1929 lost films Lost drama films 1920s American films