The Wolf of Wall Street (1929 film)

The Wolf of Wall Street is a 1929 American pre-Code drama film directed by Rowland V. Lee and starring George Bancroft, Paul Lukas, Olga Baclanova, and Nancy Carroll. The story and screenplay were written by Doris Anderson.[1]

The Wolf of Wall Street
One of theatrical film heralds
Directed by	Rowland V. Lee
Written by	Doris Anderson
Starring	George Bancroft Olga Baclanova Nancy Carroll
Music by	Karl Hajos
Cinematography	Victor Milner
Edited by	Robert Bassler
Production company	Paramount Pictures
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	February 2, 1929 (1929-02-02) (United States)
Country	United States
Language	English

Originally made as a silent film, The Wolf of Wall Street was completely re-filmed with sound,[2] becoming Bancroft's first talkie.[3]

The plot concerns a ruthless trader (Bancroft) who corners the market in copper and then sells short, making a fortune but ultimately ruining the finances of himself and his friends.[4][5][6]

Cast

• George Bancroft as The Wolf
• Olga Baclanova as Olga
• Nancy Carroll as Gert (the maid)
• Paul Lukas as David Tyler
• Brandon Hurst as Sturgess
• Crauford Kent as Jessup

Reception

Reception for the film was mixed. Life criticized the film for depending too much on its novelty value; the advertising ran "George Bancroft talks ... Baclanova sings", and Life noted "there is the good news that George Bancroft has a fine screen voice", but felt the film lacked substance in the plot.[7] Film Daily wrote that "George Bancroft as the roughneck engineering a pool in Wall Street to get the sucker is immense, as usual", but complained of a lack of action and weak story.

References

1. Christopher Silvester. The Grove Book of Hollywood, 2007, p. 109; "Rowland Lee handled George Bancroft in The Wolf of Wall Street".
2. Films in Review – Volume 37 1986, p. 12; "THE WOLF OF WALL STREET. 1929. Paramount. Ben Schulberg, producer. With George Bancroft, Paul Lukas, Olga Baclanova, Hector Chacon, and Nancy Carroll. Originally made as a silent, The Wolf of Wall Street was completely re-filmed as a talking ..."
3. Roy Liebman. From silents to sound: a biographical encyclopedia 1998, p. 16;
   '"Sound: George Bancroft retained his star status through his first few talkies, his sound debut coming in The Wolf of Wall Street (1929)"'.
4. Hall, Mordaunt. "The Wolf of Wall Street (1929)". New York Times. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
5. Kenneth White Munden. The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures (1997); Cast: George Bancroft (The Wolf), Baclanova (Olga, his wife), Paul Lukas (David Tyler), Nancy Carroll (Gert, the maid), ... "The Wolf of Wall Street corners the market in copper and then sells short, making a fortune ... To revenge himself, The Wolf deliberately ruins himself and Tyler in the market and then walks out on his wife."
6. Paul L. Nemcek. The films of Nancy Carroll (1969), p. 75;
   "With George Bancroft What the critics said about THE WOLF OF WALL STREET Film Daily: George Bancroft as the roughneck engineering a pool in Wall Street to get the sucker is immense, as usual, but the lack of action and weak story cramp.."
7. Life, Volume 93, page xix (1929); "... George Bancroft talks ... Baclanova sings ... so the public flocks in to satisfy its curiosity. Thank Heaven the sound of the human voice will soon cease to be a novelty on the screen, and producers may then find it necessary to provide."

External links

• The Wolf of Wall Street on IMDb