The Eternal Three (1923)
Melodrama | 30 September 1923
Directors:
Marshall Neilan, Frank UrsonWriters:
Carey Wilson, Marshall NeilanCinematographer:
David KessonProduction Company:
Goldwyn PicturesPart of the Summary is taken from a “fictionalized” version of the script by Peter Andrews in the Aug 1923 Motion Picture Magazine.
The 13 Jan 1923 editions of the Exhibitors Herald and Motion Picture News reported that director Marshall Neilan was beginning his second project in association with Goldwyn Pictures, temporarily titled The Ingrate. His main actors, including Hobart Bosworth and Claire Windsor, had already been hired, and Neilan planned to rehearse the complete picture before starting principal photography. According to the 1 Feb 1923 Var, Neilan filmed at a Los Angeles hospital rather than build a studio set, and used regular doctors and nurses in the scenes.
In a column called “A Letter From Location” that ran in the Aug 1923 Picture-Play, Claire Windsor wrote about filming scenes with Hobart Bosworth in Mexico City, Mexico. One took place on a balcony of Chapultepec Castle, another in a gondolier-propelled flower boat on La Viga Canal, and another in front of the Metropolitan Cathedral. However, Windsor made no mention of the director, or the film’s title, and the only hint of when they filmed in Mexico City was her mention that she attended Palm Sunday services at the cathedral, which would have been 25 Mar 1923. An item in the 31 Mar 1923 Exhibitors Herald noted that director Marshall Neilan would shoot what was then being called The Eternal Three in the Mexican capital; the 14 Apr 1923 Motion Picture News noted that the company returned that week from Mexico City and Chapultepec; the 26 May 1923 Exhibitors Herald ...
Part of the Summary is taken from a “fictionalized” version of the script by Peter Andrews in the Aug 1923 Motion Picture Magazine.
The 13 Jan 1923 editions of the Exhibitors Herald and Motion Picture News reported that director Marshall Neilan was beginning his second project in association with Goldwyn Pictures, temporarily titled The Ingrate. His main actors, including Hobart Bosworth and Claire Windsor, had already been hired, and Neilan planned to rehearse the complete picture before starting principal photography. According to the 1 Feb 1923 Var, Neilan filmed at a Los Angeles hospital rather than build a studio set, and used regular doctors and nurses in the scenes.
In a column called “A Letter From Location” that ran in the Aug 1923 Picture-Play, Claire Windsor wrote about filming scenes with Hobart Bosworth in Mexico City, Mexico. One took place on a balcony of Chapultepec Castle, another in a gondolier-propelled flower boat on La Viga Canal, and another in front of the Metropolitan Cathedral. However, Windsor made no mention of the director, or the film’s title, and the only hint of when they filmed in Mexico City was her mention that she attended Palm Sunday services at the cathedral, which would have been 25 Mar 1923. An item in the 31 Mar 1923 Exhibitors Herald noted that director Marshall Neilan would shoot what was then being called The Eternal Three in the Mexican capital; the 14 Apr 1923 Motion Picture News noted that the company returned that week from Mexico City and Chapultepec; the 26 May 1923 Exhibitors Herald quoted Neilan that he shot “a Mexican sequence” for The Eternal Three; and a full-page advertisement for the film in the 4 Aug 1923 Motion Picture News stated that the film was “Photographed in Mexico and America.” However, the various reviews, including those in the 7 Oct 1923 FD, the 13 Oct 1923 Exhibitors Trade Review, and the 20 Oct 1923 Exhibitors Herald mentioned nothing about a Mexican sequence in the film. Whether the Mexican honeymoon scenes were excised, or simply ignored by reviewers, is unknown.
A studio chart in the 21 Apr 1923 Camera stated that at the Goldwyn Studios in Culver City, CA, The Eternal Three was in its fifteenth week of production. By the following week, the film was listed as being edited.
The Eternal Three opened at the Capitol Theatre in New York City on 30 Sep 1923 for a week’s engagement, the 13 Oct 1923 Exhibitors Herald reported.
Following their honeymoon, busy brain surgeon Dr. Frank R. Walters allows his charity work to take up too much of his time. Frances, his neglected young bride, turns for companionship to her husband’s adopted son, Leonard Foster, an entertaining but profligate young man who seduces every woman he meets. When the two begin an affair, Frank catches them in each other’s arms, but turns away in confusion, realizing that he is responsible for his wife’s loneliness. Leonard promises Frances that someday, when he makes enough money, he will take her away to Europe. Meanwhile, however, Leonard maintains a sexual relationship with the emotionally vulnerable Hilda Gray, Frank’s secretary. One evening, as Frank decides to pay more attention to Frances and throw Leonard out of the house, he receives a telephone call from the hospital. Leonard and Frances have been in an automobile accident, and although Frances is unhurt, Leonard has suffered a skull fracture. Frank rushes to the operating room and uses his extraordinary skills to save Leonard’s life. While Leonard convalesces at home, the guilt-ridden Frances isolates herself. Meanwhile, Hilda Gray’s boyfriend, Tommy Tucker, and her brother, Bob, find her in a maternity hospital. Tommy professes his love despite her infidelity, and they agree to marry. Afterward, Tommy and Bob go to Dr. Frank Walters’s house to confront Leonard, and when the doctor learns what he did with Hilda, he chastises his adopted son for being a cad and gives him a thrashing with a horsewhip. Tommy and Bob likewise give Leonard a beating. Frances admits her weakness to her husband, and begs forgiveness. Ordered to leave permanently, Leonard walks out of the house, sees a young woman ...
Following their honeymoon, busy brain surgeon Dr. Frank R. Walters allows his charity work to take up too much of his time. Frances, his neglected young bride, turns for companionship to her husband’s adopted son, Leonard Foster, an entertaining but profligate young man who seduces every woman he meets. When the two begin an affair, Frank catches them in each other’s arms, but turns away in confusion, realizing that he is responsible for his wife’s loneliness. Leonard promises Frances that someday, when he makes enough money, he will take her away to Europe. Meanwhile, however, Leonard maintains a sexual relationship with the emotionally vulnerable Hilda Gray, Frank’s secretary. One evening, as Frank decides to pay more attention to Frances and throw Leonard out of the house, he receives a telephone call from the hospital. Leonard and Frances have been in an automobile accident, and although Frances is unhurt, Leonard has suffered a skull fracture. Frank rushes to the operating room and uses his extraordinary skills to save Leonard’s life. While Leonard convalesces at home, the guilt-ridden Frances isolates herself. Meanwhile, Hilda Gray’s boyfriend, Tommy Tucker, and her brother, Bob, find her in a maternity hospital. Tommy professes his love despite her infidelity, and they agree to marry. Afterward, Tommy and Bob go to Dr. Frank Walters’s house to confront Leonard, and when the doctor learns what he did with Hilda, he chastises his adopted son for being a cad and gives him a thrashing with a horsewhip. Tommy and Bob likewise give Leonard a beating. Frances admits her weakness to her husband, and begs forgiveness. Ordered to leave permanently, Leonard walks out of the house, sees a young woman walking by, and picks her up. Dr. Frank Walters vows to pay more attention to Frances.
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