''The Life Line'' is a 1919 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 ...

directed by Maurice Tourneur and starring Jack Holt,

Wallace Beery Wallace Fitzgerald Beery (April 1, 1885 – April 15, 1949) was an American film and stage actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in '' Min and Bill'' (1930) opposite Marie Dressler, as General Director Preysing in '' Grand Hotel'' ( ...

and

Lew Cody Lew Cody (born Louis Joseph Côté; February 22, 1884 – May 31, 1934) was an American stage and film actor whose career spanned the silent film and early sound film age. He gained notoriety in the late 1910s for playing "male vamps" in films ...

. The picture was based on the play ''

The Romany Rye ''The Romany Rye'' is a novel by George Borrow, written in 1857 as a sequel to ''Lavengro'' (1851). The novel Largely thought to be at least partly autobiographical, ''The Romany Rye'' follows from ''Lavengro'' (1851). The title can be transl ...

'' by the British playwright

George R. Sims George Robert Sims (2 September 1847 – 4 September 1922) was an English journalist, poet, dramatist, novelist and ''bon vivant''. Sims began writing lively humour and satiric pieces for ''Fun'' magazine and ''The Referee'', but he was soon co ...

. The film is set amongst the criminal classes in the slums of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Cast

* Jack Holt as Jack Hearne, the Romany Rye *

as Bos *

as Phillip Royston *

Tully Marshall Tully Marshall (born William Phillips; April 10, 1864 – March 10, 1943) was an American character actor. He had nearly a quarter century of theatrical experience before his debut film appearance in 1914 which led to a film career spanning alm ...

as Joe Heckett *

Seena Owen Seena Owen (born Signe Auen; November 14, 1894 – August 15, 1966) was an American silent film actress and screenwriter. Early life Born Signe Auen in Spokane, Washington, she was the youngest of three children raised by Jens Christensen and K ...

as Laura *

Pauline Starke Pauline Starke (January 10, 1901Some sources say she was born in 1900. – February 3, 1977) was an American silent-film actress. Early years Pauline Starke was born on January 10, 1901, in Joplin, Missouri, the daughter of George W. Starke ...

as Ruth Heckett

Preservation status

A print is preserved at

Filmmuseum Eye Filmmuseum is a film archive, museum, and cinema in Amsterdam that preserves and presents both Dutch and foreign films screened in the Netherlands. Location and history Eye Filmmuseum is located in the Overhoeks neighborhood of Amsterdam in t ...

Amsterdam aka the EYE Institut.The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog:''The Life Line''
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References

Bibliography

* Waldman, Harry. ''Maurice Tourneur: The Life and Films''. McFarland, 2008.

External links

* * 1919 films 1919 drama films Silent American drama films 1910s English-language films Films directed by Maurice Tourneur American silent feature films Films set in London Films set in England American films based on plays American black-and-white films 1910s American films {{1910s-drama-film-stub