The Scarlet Letter (1926)

Director:

Victor Sjöström

Writers:

Nathaniel Hawthorne (novel)
Frances Marion (adaptation)
(more)

Release Date:

8 January 1927 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

In Puritan Boston, seamstress Hester Prynne is punished for playing on the Sabbath day; but kindly minister Arthur Dimmesdale takes pity on her...

Plot Keywords:

Adulteress | Corporal Punishment | Native American | Public Humiliation | Historical

Cast

Lillian Gish	...	Hester Prynne
Lars Hanson	...	The Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale
Henry B. Walthall	...	Roger Chillingworth
Karl Dane	...	Master Giles
William H. Tooker	...	The Governor
Marcelle Corday	...	Mistress Hibbins
Fred Herzog	...	The Jailer
Jules Cowles	...	The Beadle
Mary Hawes	...	Patience
Joyce Coad	...	Pearl
James A. Marcus	...	A Sea Captain
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Nora Cecil	...	(uncredited)
Dorothy Gray	...	Child (uncredited)
Margaret Mann	...	(uncredited)
Polly Moran	...	Jeering Townswoman (uncredited)
Chief Yowlachie	...	Indian (uncredited)

Directed by
Victor Sjöström		(as Victor Seastrom)

Writing credits
Nathaniel Hawthorne		(novel)
Frances Marion		(adaptation and scenario)
Frances Marion		(titles)

Produced by
Victor Sjöström	....	producer (as Victor Seastrom)

Original Music by
Lisa Anne Miller		(2000)
Mark Northam		(2000)
William Axt		(uncredited)
David Mendoza		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Hendrik Sartov		(as Henrik Sartov)

Film Editing by
Hugh Wynn

Costume Design by
Max Rée

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Harold S. Bucquet	....	assistant director (as Harold Bucquet)

Art Department
Cedric Gibbons	....	settings
Sidney Ullman	....	settings

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (controlled by Loew's Inc.)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
• Turner Entertainment (USA) (TV) (as Turner Entertainment Company) (2000 restored version)

Also Known As:

A Mulher Marcada (Portugal) [pt]
Mujer marcada, La (Spain) [es]
Punainen kirjain (Finland) [fi]
Rote Buchstabe, Der (Austria) [de]
Tulipunainen kirjain (Finland) [fi]

Runtime:

Sweden:115 min | 98 min (2000 restored version)

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Greta Garbo was an almost daily visitor to the set, in order to be near her friend Lars Hansen, and to speak Swedish to alleviate her homesickness.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "MGM: When the Lion Roars" (1992)

Lilian Gish,the first thespian of the silent era...

This is the definitive version of the classic:do yourself a favor and forget the Demi Moore one which was released a few years back.

Any actress who takes on the part will be fatally compared with Mrs Gish and the favorite thespian of MM Griffith and Sjostrom is so powerful that she would outshine anyone.At a time when an actor had to manage without words,every performance of Lilian Gish ("the wind" "orphans in the storm" ) is a tour de force in itself.Running the whole gamut of human feelings,her portrayal displays every nuance of her fragility,her desperation and her hope against hope .But I will not try to describe it:just watch yourself.

Sjostrom's directing stood the test of time hands down and the story is absorbing until the very end.

Never forget that Mrs Gish made a great come back in the talkies which culminated in her sensational old lady in "the night of the hunter" (1955)