Our Dancing Daughters
Our Dancing Daughters is a 1928 American silent drama film starring Joan Crawford and John Mack Brown about the "loosening of youth morals" that took place during the 1920s. The film was directed by Harry Beaumont and produced by Hunt Stromberg. This was the film that made Joan Crawford a major star, a position she held for the following half century.
| Our Dancing Daughters | |
|---|---|
 Lobby card | |
| Directed by | Harry Beaumont |
| Produced by | Hunt Stromberg |
| Written by | Titles Marian Ainslee Ruth Cummings |
| Story by | Josephine Lovett (& scenario) |
| Starring | Joan Crawford John Mack Brown |
| Music by | William Axt |
| Cinematography | George Barnes |
| Edited by | William Hamilton |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date | September 1, 1928 |
Running time | 85 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent film English intertitles |
| Budget | $178,000[1] |
| Box office | $1,099,000[1] |
While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized soundtrack and sound effects.
Plot
"Dangerous Diana" Medford (Crawford) is outwardly flamboyant and popular but inwardly virtuous and idealistic, patronizing her parents by telling them not to stay out late. Her friend Ann chases boys for their money and is as amoral as her mother.
Diana and Ann are both attracted to Ben Blaine (Brown). He takes Diana's flirtatious behavior with other boys as a sign of lack of interest in him and marries Ann, who has lied about her virtues. Bea, a mutual friend of Diana and Ann, also meets and marries a wealthy suitor who loves her but is haunted by her past.
Diana becomes distraught for a while about the marriage of her friends with questionable pasts. She decides to go away and Bea throws a party for her, which Ben declined to attend and made Ann decline as well. The same evening Ann hopes to meet up with her lover, Freddie, telling her husband she is going to see her sick mom. When her mom calls and Ben realizes Ann has lied to him yet again they get into an argument and Ann storms out to meet Freddie.
Now alone, Ben decides to stop by the party where he and Diana realize their love for each other. Meanwhile, a drunk Ann follows Freddie into the party only to find Ben and Diana. She makes a drunken scene in which both Diana and Ben leave the party declaring their love but saying their goodbyes to each other.
Bea's husband comes home to find Bea trying to get a drunken Ann home. As Ann is mocking cleaning ladies and her life (as her mom did), she stumbles and falls to her death down a flight of stairs. Headlines show Diana returning home after a lengthy time away and she and Ben are free to unite.
Cast
- Joan Crawford as Diana "Di" Medford
- John Mack Brown as Ben Blaine
- Nils Asther as Norman
- Dorothy Sebastian as Beatrice "Bea"
- Anita Page as Ann "Annikins"
- Kathlyn Williams as Ann's mother
- Edward J. Nugent as Freddie
- Dorothy Cumming as Diana's mother
- Huntley Gordon as Diana's father
- Evelyn Hall as Freddie's mother
- Sam De Grasse as Freddie's father
Reception
Bland Johnson in the New York Mirror commented, "Joan Crawford...does the greatest work of her career."[2] The film was also nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Screenplay (Josephine Lovett) and Best Cinematography (George Barnes).[3]
Box office
According to MGM records the film earned $757,000 in the US and Canada and $342,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $304,000.[1]
DVD release
This was released in 2010 on DVD.[4]
References
- The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
- Quirk, Lawrence J.. The Films of Joan Crawford. The Citadel Press, 1968.
- "The 2nd Academy Awards (1930) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
- "Silent Era: Home Video: Our Dancing Daughters". Retrieved September 20, 2014.