''Voices of the City'' (also known as ''The Night Rose'', its intended original release title) is a 1921 American silent

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and comb ...

film starring

Leatrice Joy Leatrice Joy (born Leatrice Johanna Zeidler; November 7, 1893 – May 13, 1985) was an American actress most prolific during the silent film era. Early life Joy was born in New Orleans, Louisiana to dentist Edward Joseph Zeidler, who was o ...

and

Lon Chaney Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and affli ...

that was directed by

Wallace Worsley Wallace A. Worsley, Sr. (December 8, 1878 – March 26, 1944) was an American stage actor who became a film director in the silent era. During his career, Worsley directed 29 films and acted in 7 films. He directed several motion pictures sta ...

, based on the

Leroy Scott Leroy Scott (July 21, 1875 – May 11, 1929) was an American writer of novels and screenplays. Biography Scott was born in Fairmount, Indiana 11 May 1875. His father was a minister with the Religious Society of Friends. He graduated from Indiana ...

novel ''The Night Rose''. The film took more than 9 months to be released due to a controversy over the proposed title and the film's abundance of gunplay. The film was retitled ''Voices of the City'' and was only released in December 1921, although it had been completed in early March. The film is still listed under ''The Night Rose'' in some reference sources. The ball sequence involved 300 couples and took five days to film. It is considered a

lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy ...

today. A still exists showing Chaney as the gangster, Red O'Rourke.

Plot

While at the seedy Blue Jay cafe in San Francisco with her sweetheart Jimmy Halloran (Cullen Landis), Georgia Rodman (Leatrice Joy) is a witness to the murder of a policeman by Red O'Rourke's gang. Georgia and Jimmy are regarded as accessories to the slaying and begin looking for them to question them. Georgia's mother throws her out of her house for consorting with lowlifes. Offering to hide the couple, Red O'Rourke (Lon Chaney) actually plans to kill Jimmy so he can't testify against him. O'Rourke tells Georgia the police are looking for her so that she remains hidden during the day. She becomes known as the "Night Rose" because she only comes out at night, wearing a veil. O'Rourke's girlfriend Sally Monroe (Schade) becomes jealous that her boyfriend is trying to get Georgia to marry him. She tells Georgia that O'Rourke is a rat and that he is planning to kill Jimmy at a local ball run by O'Rourke at which he plans to marry Georgia. Jimmy is lured to Black Mike's Cafe where he is shot by one of O'Rourke's men. Georgia, believing him to be dead, determines to have her revenge. Georgia pulls a gun on O'Rourke at the ball while they are dancing. Just as she is about to shoot him, Sally grabs the pistol out of her hand and fires the fatal shot. Georgia's mother forgives her and welcomes her back, and upon her return, Georgia finds Jimmy recovering at her mother's home.

Cast

as Georgia Rodman *

as O'Rourke / Duke McGee * John Bowers as Graham *

Cullen Landis James Cullen Landis (July 9, 1896 – August 26, 1975) was an American motion picture actor and director whose career began in the early years of the silent film era. Biography James Cullen Landis was the middle of three siblings (two sons and ...

as Jimmy *

Richard Tucker Richard Tucker (August 28, 1913January 8, 1975) was an American operatic tenor and cantor. Long associated with the Metropolitan Opera, Tucker's career was primarily centered in the United States. Early life Tucker was born Rivn (Rubin) Ticke ...

as Clancy * Mary Warren as Mary Rodman *

Edythe Chapman Edythe Chapman (October 8, 1863 – October 15, 1948) was an American stage and silent film actress. Career Born in Rochester, New York, Chapman began her stage career as early as 1898 when she appeared in New York City in ''The Charity Bal ...

as Mrs. Rodman *

Betty Schade Betty Schade (born Frida Feddersen; March 27, 1895 – March 27, 1982) was a German-born American actress of the silent era. She appeared in about 135 films between 1913 and 1921. Schade was born in Geestemünde (Bremerhaven), Germany and m ...

as Sally * Maurice B. "Lefty" Flynn as Pierson *

Milton Ross Milton Ross (December 2, 1876 – September 6, 1941) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1914 and 1948. Selected filmography * ''The Green Swamp'' (1916) * ''The Gunfighter'' (1917) * '' The Desert Man'' ( ...

as Courey *

John Cossar John Hay Cossar (2 January 1858 – 28 April 1935) was an English actor of the silent era. He appeared in more than 140 films between 1914 and 1929. Biography Cossar was born in London, England. He was the fifth child of Walter Cossar and h ...

as Garrison

Controversial Release

In 1921 when ''The Night Rose'' was released, many American cities and states had enacted their own film censorship laws. Because of its crime plot, ''The Night Rose'' was subjected to censorship, and was the first film rejected in whole by the recently created New York State Motion Picture Commission which it condemned "as highly immoral and of such character that its exhibition would not only tend to corrupt morals, but to incite crime." Goldwyn appealed the decision to New York state court, which upheld the commission's decision on November 18, 1921. Goldwyn then came to an agreement with the state commission to edit the film, which removed many of Lon Chaney's scenes and inexplicably changed the name of his character from Red O'Rourke to Duke McGee.Progressive Silent Film List: ''Voices of the City'' (aka ''The Night Rose'', the film's original title)
at silentera.com The film was finally released in December 1921 under the title ''Voices of the City''.

Critiques

"Interesting underworld melodrama with intricate plotting and counter-plotting by a master criminal and an abundance of gun play...Lon Chaney, as always, gets the utmost out of the role of a powerful leader of lawbreakers. He has a gift for quiet emphasis in pantomime which fits nicely into this lurid tale." ---Variety "It is not a particularly convincing sort of story and the continuity is rather ragged in spots. Lon Chaney plays his part of the gang chief with his usual energy and ability to invest such roles with a species of sinister fascination." ---Exhibitors Trade Review "With some changes in the subtitles and the necessary cuts, plus a new main title, the picture is being shown at the Capitol. Through the process (of censorship), the story has become somewhat disjointed and illogical as well as hard to follow. Lon Chaney has done much better things than this." ---Film DailyBlake, Michael F. (1998). "The Films of Lon Chaney". Vestal Press Inc. Page 116. .

References

External links

* *

at silenthollywood.com {{Wallace Worsley 1921 films 1921 crime drama films American crime drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Goldwyn Pictures films Lost American films Films directed by Wallace Worsley Film censorship in the United States Film controversies in the United States Censored films 1921 lost films 1921 drama films 1920s American films Silent American drama films