Black Magic (1929)
66 mins | Melodrama | 7 July 1929
Cast:
Josephine Dunn, Earle Foxe, John Holland [ More ]Director:
George B. SeitzWriter:
Beulah Marie DixCinematographer:
Glen MacWilliamsEditor:
Katherine HillikerProduction Company:
Fox Film Corp.The scenario was adapted from the 1925 play, Cape Smoke by Walter A. Frost and Paul Dickey, which was based on Frost’s novel, The Man Between. A news item in the Sep 1925 Picture-Play noted that screen rights for the property had been purchased by an unidentified studio.
On 30 Mar 1929, Exhibitors Herald-World reported the 11 Mar 1929 start of principal photography at Fox Studios in Hollywood, CA, under the working title, Cape Smoke. Cast member Fritz Feld was concurrently appearing in Broadway (1929, see entry) at Universal Studios, as stated in the 17 Mar 1929 Film Daily. The 23 Mar 1929 Exhibitors Herald-World noted that African American comedian Stepin Fetchit had been reassigned to The Fox Movietone Follies of 1929 (1929, see entry), after being replaced in this film by Blue Washington. The official title was announced as Black Magic in the 5 Apr 1929 Film Daily.
The 19 May 1929 New York Daily News revealed that director George B. Seitz employed “a secret camera attachment” in the making of the picture, which eliminated the need for double exposures. According to the article, Seitz’s invention enabled him to film an entire scene “with the ghost action in the background perfectly timed to match with the main scene.” The close of production was reported in the 15 Apr 1929 Film Daily.
Black Magic was released on 7 Jul 1929, followed ...
The scenario was adapted from the 1925 play, Cape Smoke by Walter A. Frost and Paul Dickey, which was based on Frost’s novel, The Man Between. A news item in the Sep 1925 Picture-Play noted that screen rights for the property had been purchased by an unidentified studio.
On 30 Mar 1929, Exhibitors Herald-World reported the 11 Mar 1929 start of principal photography at Fox Studios in Hollywood, CA, under the working title, Cape Smoke. Cast member Fritz Feld was concurrently appearing in Broadway (1929, see entry) at Universal Studios, as stated in the 17 Mar 1929 Film Daily. The 23 Mar 1929 Exhibitors Herald-World noted that African American comedian Stepin Fetchit had been reassigned to The Fox Movietone Follies of 1929 (1929, see entry), after being replaced in this film by Blue Washington. The official title was announced as Black Magic in the 5 Apr 1929 Film Daily.
The 19 May 1929 New York Daily News revealed that director George B. Seitz employed “a secret camera attachment” in the making of the picture, which eliminated the need for double exposures. According to the article, Seitz’s invention enabled him to film an entire scene “with the ghost action in the background perfectly timed to match with the main scene.” The close of production was reported in the 15 Apr 1929 Film Daily.
Black Magic was released on 7 Jul 1929, followed by an 8 Aug 1929 opening at the Fox Boulevard Theatre in Los Angeles, CA, and a one-day showing on 27 Aug 1929 at Loew’s New York Theatre in New York City. The 4 Sep 1929 Var dismissed it as “a not too intelligent picture for not too intelligent audiences.”
The National Film Preservation Board (NFPB) included this film on its list of Lost U.S. Silent Feature Films as of February 2021.
On a South Pacific island, three exiled men, Hugh Darrell, James Fraser, and Dr. Bradbroke, spend their time drinking to forget the misdeeds of their past: the doctor performed surgery while drunk; James dressed as a woman to escape a sinking ship; and Hugh seduced a young woman. One day, Bradbroke’s daughter, Katherine, wanders into the jungle and is rescued by John Ormsby, a visiting pearl trader. The three derelicts plan to swindle John and employ a witch-doctor to aid in their deceipt. John learns of the plot, and when an attempt is made on his life, the doctor sacrifices his life by stepping in front of the bullet. Afterward, Katherine and her sister, Ann, leave the island with ...
On a South Pacific island, three exiled men, Hugh Darrell, James Fraser, and Dr. Bradbroke, spend their time drinking to forget the misdeeds of their past: the doctor performed surgery while drunk; James dressed as a woman to escape a sinking ship; and Hugh seduced a young woman. One day, Bradbroke’s daughter, Katherine, wanders into the jungle and is rescued by John Ormsby, a visiting pearl trader. The three derelicts plan to swindle John and employ a witch-doctor to aid in their deceipt. John learns of the plot, and when an attempt is made on his life, the doctor sacrifices his life by stepping in front of the bullet. Afterward, Katherine and her sister, Ann, leave the island with John.
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