The Black Pearl (1928 film)

The Black Pearl
The Black Pearl
Directed by	Scott Pembroke
Written by	Nancy Mann Waddel Woodrow (novel); Arthur Hoerl ;
Produced by	Trem Carr
Starring	Lila Lee; Ray Hallor; Carl Stockdale;
Cinematography	Hap Depew
Edited by	J.S. Harrington
Production; company	Trem Carr Pictures
Distributed by	Rayart Pictures
Release date	December 18, 1928
Running time	58 minutes
Country	United States
Languages	Silent; English intertitles;

The Black Pearl is a 1928 American silent mystery film directed by Scott Pembroke and starring Lila Lee, Ray Hallor and Carl Stockdale. It is based on a 1912 novel titled The Black Pearl by Nancy Mann Waddel Woodrow, with a plot very similar to that of Wilkie Collins' 1868 novel The Moonstone. Both novels involved a mystery around a jewel stolen from an Indian idol that carries a horrible curse.^[1]

Reviews from the time suggest this "old dark house" mystery had less humor and more suspense than most, but the film is today considered lost, so it all remains conjecture. Actress Lila Lee went on to star in the 1930 sound remake of The Unholy Three, starring Lon Chaney. Carl Stockdale, who plays the detective/hero of the film, had a long and varied career, appearing in The Vampire Bat (1933), Mad Love (1935) and Revenge of the Zombies (1936), among many other films.^[2]

Synopsis

A black pearl stolen from an Indian idol is reputedly cursed. After Silas Lathrop inherits it, he receives threatening messages and is marked for death. He gathers around him all of the members of his family for the reading of his will. There follows a mystery much in the "old dark house" genre. After several murders, a detective named Bertram Chisholm solves the case.

Cast

Lila Lee as Eugenie Bromley
Ray Hallor as Robert Lathrop
Carl Stockdale as Ethelbert / Bertram Chisolm, the detective
Howard Lorenz as Dr. Drake
Adele Watson as Sarah Runyan
Thomas A. Curran as Silas Lathrop
Sybil Grove as Miss Sheen
Lew Short as Eugene Bromley
George B. French as Stephen Runyan
Joseph Belmont as Wiggenbottom
Art Rowlands as Claude Lathrop

References

^ Wlaschin p.30
^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 322. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.

Bibliography

Ken Wlaschin. Silent Mystery and Detective Movies: A Comprehensive Filmography. McFarland, 2009.

External links

The Black Pearl at IMDb

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[1] Wlaschin p.30

[2] Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 322. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.

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