Two Lovers (1928)
100 mins | Romance | 18 August 1928
Cast:
Ronald Colman, Vilma Banky, Noah Beery [ More ]Director:
Fred NibloWriter:
Alice D. G. MillerCinematographer:
George BarnesEditor:
Viola LawrenceProduction Company:
Samuel Goldwyn, Inc.Working titles included Leatherface and The Passionate Adventure. This film marked the final collaboration between Vilma Banky and Ronald Colman, who co-starred in a series of romantic pictures including The Winning of Barbara Worth (1926, see entry), The Night of Love and The Magic Flame (1927, see entries). The idea for the picture, an adaptation of the 1916 novel Leatherface: A Tale of Old Flanders, was suggested to Samuel Goldwyn, Inc., as part of a contest for “the best picture idea” submitted by any person, according to the 2 March 1928 New York Daily News. The winning contestant, who received a prize of $2,500, was said to be a sixteen-year-old girl living in Milwaukee, WI.
On 11 September 1927, a Los Angeles Times item announced that director Fred Niblo was preparing the story for Leatherface. Four months later, the 7 January 1928 Motion Picture News reported that principal photography was scheduled to be completed by 12 January 1928. A final title change from The Grand Passion to Two Lovers was announced in the 8 February 1928 New York Daily News.
An item in the 12 February 1928 New York Times noted that Ronald Colman was able to forgo makeup during this production thanks to the incandescent lighting used, which, paired with “panchromatic film,” made it possible to portray the actors’ skin “with the greatest fidelity to nature yet achieved.” William Meller, the head electrician for Samuel Goldwyn, Inc., was responsible for the lighting on set. Shooting took place at De ...
Working titles included Leatherface and The Passionate Adventure. This film marked the final collaboration between Vilma Banky and Ronald Colman, who co-starred in a series of romantic pictures including The Winning of Barbara Worth (1926, see entry), The Night of Love and The Magic Flame (1927, see entries). The idea for the picture, an adaptation of the 1916 novel Leatherface: A Tale of Old Flanders, was suggested to Samuel Goldwyn, Inc., as part of a contest for “the best picture idea” submitted by any person, according to the 2 March 1928 New York Daily News. The winning contestant, who received a prize of $2,500, was said to be a sixteen-year-old girl living in Milwaukee, WI.
On 11 September 1927, a Los Angeles Times item announced that director Fred Niblo was preparing the story for Leatherface. Four months later, the 7 January 1928 Motion Picture News reported that principal photography was scheduled to be completed by 12 January 1928. A final title change from The Grand Passion to Two Lovers was announced in the 8 February 1928 New York Daily News.
An item in the 12 February 1928 New York Times noted that Ronald Colman was able to forgo makeup during this production thanks to the incandescent lighting used, which, paired with “panchromatic film,” made it possible to portray the actors’ skin “with the greatest fidelity to nature yet achieved.” William Meller, the head electrician for Samuel Goldwyn, Inc., was responsible for the lighting on set. Shooting took place at De Mille Studios in Culver City, CA, as noted in the May 1928 Picture Play and August 1928 Motion Picture. The Picture Play item mentioned that four background actors were injured during the filming of one sequence, in which a tree trunk that had been “temporarily lodged in the mud” fell over onto a rushing crowd.
A New York City opening on 22 March 1928 preceded a general release on 18 August 1928. The 22 August 1928 Exhibitors Daily Review stated that Goldwyn Vice President Abraham Lehr was preparing to distribute 320 prints for U.S. and foreign release, at a cost of $60,000 for the prints.
According to the National Film Preservation Board (NFPB), this film may be extant.
Donna Lenora, a Spanish girl of nobility, is forced by her cruel uncle, the Duke of Azar, to marry Mark Van Rycke, the son of the Burgomaster of Ghent, ostensibly to cement relations between the conquered and the conqueror, but in reality to ferret out the secrets of William of Orange, silent leader of the Flemish in their attempt to throw off the yoke of Spanish rule. Lenora becomes a spy after having been persuaded by her uncle to forget her Spanish sweetheart, Don Ramón de Linea, commander of the Spanish forces in Ghent. Lenora's hatred for the Dutch is intensified when her sweetheart is killed by Leatherface (Mark), bodyguard and advisor to William of Orange, but eventually she realizes that the Dutch cause is just. She makes a heroic ride to Ghent, saves the lives of a group of conspirators, helps the Flemish take a fortress guarding Ghent, and is happily reunited with her estranged ...
Donna Lenora, a Spanish girl of nobility, is forced by her cruel uncle, the Duke of Azar, to marry Mark Van Rycke, the son of the Burgomaster of Ghent, ostensibly to cement relations between the conquered and the conqueror, but in reality to ferret out the secrets of William of Orange, silent leader of the Flemish in their attempt to throw off the yoke of Spanish rule. Lenora becomes a spy after having been persuaded by her uncle to forget her Spanish sweetheart, Don Ramón de Linea, commander of the Spanish forces in Ghent. Lenora's hatred for the Dutch is intensified when her sweetheart is killed by Leatherface (Mark), bodyguard and advisor to William of Orange, but eventually she realizes that the Dutch cause is just. She makes a heroic ride to Ghent, saves the lives of a group of conspirators, helps the Flemish take a fortress guarding Ghent, and is happily reunited with her estranged husband.
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