Peter Pan (1924)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Herbert Brenon

Writers:

J.M. Barrie (play)
Willis Goldbeck (screenplay)

Release Date:

29 December 1924 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Fantasy | Family

Plot:

Peter Pan enters the nursery of the Darling children and, with the help of fairy dust, leads them off to Never Never Land, where they meet the nefarious Captain Hook.

Plot Keywords:

Children | Peter Pan | Pirate | Shadow | Nursery

Awards:

1 win

Cast

George Ali	...	Nana the Dog
Esther Ralston	...	Mrs. Darling
Cyril Chadwick	...	Mr. Darling
Mary Brian	...	Wendy Moira Angela Darling
Jack Murphy	...	John Napoleon Darling
Philippe De Lacy	...	Michael Nicholas Darling (as Philippe deLacy)
Virginia Brown Faire	...	Tinker Bell (as Virginia Browne Faire)
Betty Bronson	...	Peter Pan
Anna May Wong	...	Tiger Lily
Maurice Murphy	...	Tootles
Mickey McBan	...	Slightly
George Crane Jr.	...	Curly
Winston Doty	...	First Twin
Weston Doty	...	Second Twin
Terence McMillan	...	Nibs

Also Known As:

Peter Pan (Spain) [es]
Peter Pan, der Traumelf (Germany) [de]

Runtime:

105 min | Spain:101 min

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Filming Locations:

Santa Catalina Island, Channel Islands, California, USA

Company:

Famous Players-Lasky Corporation

Trivia:

Nearly all of the intertitles are taken directly from J.M. Barrie's dialogue for the play.

Quotes:

Michael Nicholas Darling: Can anything harm us, Mummy, dear, after the night lights are lit?
Mrs. Darling: Nothing, precious. They are the eyes a mother leaves behind her to guard her children.

Movie Connections:

Featured in You Can Fly!: The Making of Walt Disney's Masterpiece 'Peter Pan' (1997) (V)

Amazing for its time

When it comes to pure entertainment, there are very few silent movies that come close to PETER PAN. This whimsical story is also exceptional because I think that adults would enjoy the film at least as much as kids. Why does the film deserve such praise? Well, the biggest reason is that for a movie made in 1924, it was amazingly modern for its time and it appears as if Paramount Studios spared little expense in bringing this J. M. Barrie story to the screen. One example are the flying sequences. In almost every instance, you could see no wires and the kids really looked like they were flying! Second, when they showed the home of Peter and the Lost Boys, it was a magical and wonderful place with giant mushrooms for chairs, glowing jack-o-lanterns as lights and the coolest beds I've ever seen. The place was a magical lair in every sense. Another example was when Hook's boat began to fly--it was a great scene. In fact, the more I think about it, there were many more wonderful scenes--too many to list here. The story just looked wonderful and had among the best set designs and stunts of any silent films and I would rank it among best best of the age, such as THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI, FAUST or WINGS. This was a top production in every sense--well, every sense but one. While I liked it, it was kind of silly to make Nana the dog and the crocodile people in costumes. Some might really think this is cheesy, but I really thought it was charming.

As for the story itself, it was super entertaining. The only problem I noticed and reason the movie does not earn a 10 were the embarrassing and unnecessary pro-USA comments throughout the film. While I am very happy and proud to be an American, this film was inappropriate in making everyone gung ho Americans--even though in the original, they were English. Four different times in the movie they made reference to this--such as the Lost Boys singing patriotic American songs when they were caught and another time when Wendy told her brothers to "act like proper American gentlemen". You would almost think the movie had been made during the war due to all these references, but it wasn't. Still, apart from this minor problem, it was a heck of a wonderful film.

This video was released by KINO International. The print was absolutely pristine and the accompanying music exceptional.