''Mother Machree'' is a 1928 American synchronized

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...

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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...

that is based on the 1924 work ''The Story of Mother Machree'' by

Rida Johnson Young Rida Johnson Young (born Rida Louise Johnson; February 28, 1869 Young wrote over 30 plays and musicals and approximately 500 songs. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970. Some of her better-known lyrics include " Mother Machr ...

about a poor Irish immigrant in America. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score, singing and sound effects using the

sound-on-film Sound-on-film is a class of sound film processes where the sound accompanying a picture is recorded on photographic film, usually, but not always, the same strip of film carrying the picture. Sound-on-film processes can either record an Analog s ...

movietone process. Rida Johnson Young had invented Mother Machree in the stage show ''Barry of Ballymoore'' in 1910.

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...

has a minor role in the film.

Plot

Cast

Music

The film featured a theme song titled "Mother Machree", composed by Chauncey Olcott,

Ernest Ball Ernest Roland Ball (July 22, 1878 – May 3, 1927) was an American singer and songwriter, most famous for composing the music for the song " When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" in 1912. Ball was not Irish and neither were the lyricists. Early life ...

and

Production

The production of the film was a protracted one; the film was originally announced by Fox publicity in June 1926, with filming slated for September. In November, it was announced that it would premiere on December 12, 1926, tying in with the marketing campaign of the music and discs of the title song. However, its release was ultimately delayed because Fox had plans to release it with a Movietone synchronised music score and sound-effects track.

Release

In May 1927, ''Mother Machree'' was privately previewed at a Fox sales convention in

Atlantic City Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan sta ...

, New Jersey, along with ''Sunrise'' and ''7th Heaven'' (1927), as a showcase of the new Movietone process, and that September, a silent version was previewed at the Astoria Theatre in London. By the beginning of 1928, the delays were amounting to approximately $750,000 because its release was deferred owing to the release schedule of the Fox Movietone features. On January 22, 1928, the film premiered at the

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a Theater (structure), theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 at Southwark, close to the south bank of the Thames, by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. It was ...

in New York. The film is also notable for containing the first synchronous sound sequence using the Movietone process in a feature film, a short scene featuring Brian McHugh ( Neil Hamilton) singing the title song "Mother Machree", which featured in the original stage show.

Preservation

Only four reels out of seven of this movie survive. Incomplete prints exist (reels one, two and five) in the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

film archive; and in the

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the film preservation, preservation, film studies, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). As a nonpro ...

film archive (reels two, five and seven); reels three, four and six are presumed lost.Library of Congress / FIAF American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: ''Mother Machree''
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References

External links

* * * 1928 films 1928 drama films 1920s American films 1920s English-language films American black-and-white films American silent feature films Articles containing video clips Early sound films English-language drama films Films directed by John Ford Fox Film films Silent American drama films Synchronized sound films {{1920s-silent-drama-film-stub