Don Juan (1926 film)

1926 film by Alan Crosland

Don Juan

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| Alan Crosland
Written by| Walter Anthony (intertitles)
Maude Fulton (intertitles)
Victor Vance (art titles)
Screenplay by| Bess Meredyth
Based on| Don Juan
1821 poem
by Lord Byron
Starring| John Barrymore
Cinematography| Byron Haskin
Edited by| Harold McCord
Music by| William Axt
David Mendoza
Major Bowes[1]

Production
company

The Vitaphone Corporation

Distributed by| Warner Bros. Pictures

Release date

* August 6, 1926 (1926-08-06)

Running time

| 112 minutes
Country| United States
Language| Silent (English intertitles)
Budget| $546,000[2]
Box office| $1,693,000 (worldwide rental)[3]
First-nighters posing for the camera outside the Warners' Theatre before the premiere (August 6, 1926)

Don Juan is a 1926 American romantic adventure film directed by Alan Crosland. It is the first feature-length film to utilize the Vitaphone sound-on-disc sound system with a synchronized musical score and sound effects, though it has no spoken dialogue.[4] The film is inspired by Lord Byron's 1821 epic poem of the same name. The screenplay was written by Bess Meredyth with intertitles by Maude Fulton and Walter Anthony.[5]

Don Juan stars John Barrymore as the hand-kissing womanizer.[5]

## Plot[edit]

The full film Don Juan ad in 1926 Film Fun

In the prologue, Don José, warned of his wife's infidelity, seals his wife's lover alive in his hiding place and drives her from the castle; abandoned to his lust, he is stabbed by his last mistress, and with his dying words he implores his son, Don Juan, to take all from women but yield nothing. Ten years later, young Don Juan, a graduate of the University of Pisa, is famous as a lover and pursued by many women, including the powerful Lucrezia Borgia, who invites him to her ball. His contempt for her incites her hatred of Adriana, the daughter of the Duke Della Varnese, with whom he is enraptured; and Lucrezia plots to marry her to Count Giano Donati, one of the Borgia henchmen, and poison the duke. Don Juan intervenes and thwarts the scheme, winning the love of Adriana, but the Borgia declare war on the duke's kinsmen, offering them safety if Adriana marries Donati; Don Juan is summoned to the wedding, but he prefers death to marriage with Lucrezia. He escapes and kills Donati in a duel. The lovers are led to the death-tower, but while Adriana pretends suicide, he escapes; and following a series of battles, he defeats his pursuers and is united with Adriana.

## Cast[edit]

* John Barrymore as Don Jose de Marana / Don Juan de Marana
* Jane Winton as Donna Isobel
* John Roche as Leandro
* Warner Oland as Cesare Borgia
* Estelle Taylor as Lucrezia Borgia
* Montagu Love as Count Giano Donati
* Josef Swickard as Duke Della Varnese
* Willard Louis as Pedrillo
* Nigel De Brulier as Marchese Rinaldo
* Hedda Hopper as Marchesia Rinaldo
* Myrna Loy as Mai, Lady in Waiting
* Mary Astor as Adriana della Varnese
* Lionel Braham as Duke Margoni (uncredited)
* Helene Costello as Rena, Adriana's Maid (uncredited)
* Helena D'Algy as Donna Elvira, Murderess (uncredited)
* Yvonne Day as Don Juan at age 5 (uncredited)
* Philippe De Lacy as Don Juan at age 10 (uncredited)
* Emily Fitzroy as The Dowager (uncredited)
* John George as Hunchback / Castlekeeper / Informer (uncredited)
* Gibson Gowland as Gentleman of Rome (uncredited)
* Phyllis Haver as Imperia (uncredited)
* Sheldon Lewis as Gentleman of Rome (uncredited)
* June Marlowe as Trusia (uncredited)
* Dick Sutherland as Gentleman of Rome (uncredited)
* Gustav von Seyffertitz as Neri, the Alchemist (uncredited)
* Helen Lee Worthing as Eleanora (uncredited)

## Premiere[edit]

Between takes during filming of "La Fiesta" His Pastimes (1926), one of the short films in the program originally displayed before Don Juan

Don Juan premiered August 6, 1926, at the Warner Theatre in New York City[6] preceded by a program of other shorts demonstrating Vitaphone.[7]

Title  | Year

|

Hon. Will H. Hays, President of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, Who Will Address You  | 1926
New York Philharmonic, conducted by Henry Kimball Hadley \- Overture to "Tannhäuser"  | 1926
Mischa Elman \- "Humoresque" and "Gavotte"  | 1926
Roy Smeck The Wizard of the String in His Pastimes | 1926
Marion Talley, with the Vitaphone Symphony Orchestra conducted by Herman Heller \- "Caro Nome" from "Rigoletto"  | 1926
Efrem Zimbalist and Harold Bauer \- Theme and Variations from "The Kreutzer Sonata"  | 1926
Giovanni Martinelli, with the Vitaphone Symphony Orchestra conducted by Herman Heller \- "Vesti La Giubba"  | 1926
Anna Case in "La Fiesta", Soprano Solo, Assisted by The Cansinos, Spanish Dancers, and the Metropolitan Opera Chorus  | 1926

## Production[edit]

Lou Tellegen, an early film matinee idol, had starred in a Broadway production based on the Don Juan legend in 1921. This play ran only 14 performances at the Garrick Theatre.[8] The soundtrack for the film was performed by the New York Philharmonic. George Groves, on assignment from The Vitaphone Corporation, was charged with recording the soundtrack to the film. He devised an innovative, multi-microphone technique and performed a live mix of the 107-piece orchestra. In doing so he became the first music mixer in film history.

## Reception[edit]

The film was a box-office success being Warners' biggest grossing film to date with earnings of $1,693,000[3] despite negative reviews from New York film critics.[9] According to Warners records, the film earned $1,258,000 in the U.S. and $435,000 in other markets.[2]

Opening night tickets cost $10, and it was the first film on Broadway to charge over $3 for a regular ticket with the top prices at $3.30 each night. In the five performances over the weekend, it grossed $13,787 with people literally fighting to get in and tickets changing hands for $5.[10]

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

* 2001: AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – Nominated[11]
* 2002: AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions – Nominated[12]

## Legal issues[edit]

On August 24, two weeks after the premiere, The New York Times reported that ASCAP was pursuing claims of copyright infringement on behalf of publisher Robbins-Engel Music over the score for Don Juan. Composer William Axt had used two pieces that he had previously composed for a silent film mood music library owned by Robbins-Engel, "The Fire Agitato" and "In Gloomy Forest," along with several pieces of European classical music that were still under copyright.[13] One of the compositions Axt interpolated in the score for Don Juan was "Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks," a tone poem by the German composer Richard Strauss.[14] At the time of the event, the Warner Theatre had a valid ASCAP license for public performance, and had paid the statutory mechanical royalties for the Vitaphone discs containing the soundtrack audio, but they had not licensed the copyrighted compositions specifically for synchronization rights. The matter was settled out of court,[15] and the Warner Theatre's Music Director, Herman Heller, assigned Ottalie Mark to the task of creating a copyright research database for Warner Bros. Pictures to prevent further infringement claims.[16]

## Preservation[edit]

A print of Don Juan, including its Vitaphone soundtrack, still survives and is preserved at the UCLA Film and Television Archive.[17][18]

## Home media[edit]

In 2011, the film, along with the original Vitaphone sound shorts, was released on manufactured-on-demand DVD by the Warner Archive Collection.[19]

## See also[edit]

* 1920s portal

* List of early sound feature films (1926–1929)
* List of early Warner Bros. talking features

## References[edit]

1. ^ The Movie Musical; from Vitaphone to 42nd Street edited by Miles Kreuger c.1973 ISBN 0-486-23154-2
2. ^ a b Warner Bros financial information in The William Shaefer Ledger. See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 1-31 p 5 DOI: 10.1080/01439689508604551
3. ^ a b Glancy, H Mark (1995). "Warner Bros Film Grosses, 1921–51: the William Schaefer ledger". Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. 15: 55–73. doi:10.1080/01439689500260031.
4. ^ Stephens, E. J.; Wanamaker, Marc (2010). Early Warner Bros. Studios. Arcadia Publishing. p. 25\. ISBN 978-0-738-58091-3.
5. ^ a b White Munden, Kenneth, ed. (1997). The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States, Part 1. University of California Press. p. 195\. ISBN 0-520-20969-9.
6. ^ Don Juan at the American Film Institute Catalog
7. ^ "Vitaphone Bow is Hailed a Marvel". Variety. August 11, 1926. p. 10. Retrieved May 28, 2018 - via Archive.org.
8. ^ Don Juan, 1921 Broadway; Garrick Theatre
9. ^ "$29,000 at Warner's Gives B'Way 'Special' Record to 'Don Juan'". Variety. August 18, 1926. p. 45. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
10. ^ "first $3 Picture Show on Broadway; 'Don Juan' and Vitaphone Coupled". Variety. August 11, 1926. p. 5. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
11. ^ "AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved August 20, 2016.
12. ^ "AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved August 18, 2016.
13. ^ "DEMAND ROYALTIES ON VITAPHONE SONGS; Composers' Society Said to Plan Suit Against Makers of New Movie Apparatus. MUSIC LINKED WITH SCREEN Authors and Publishers Say Use of Songs in This Manner Violates Copyright Law". The New York Times. August 24, 1926. p. 19. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
14. ^ Eyman, Scott (1997). The Speed of Sound: Hollywood and the Talkie Revolution. USA: Simon & Schuster. p. 92\. ISBN 978-1-5011-0383-4.
15. ^ "MAY SETTLE ON ROYALTIES.; Vitaphone Dispute Likely Not to Go Into Court". The New York Times. August 25, 1926. p. 19. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
16. ^ Witmark, Isidore; Goldberg, Isaac (1939). The Story of the House of Witmark: From Ragtime to Swingtime. USA: Lee Furman, Inc. p. 424\. ISBN 9781406707205.
17. ^ "Silent Era : Progressive Silent Film List". www.silentera.com.
18. ^ The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: Don Juan
19. ^ Don Juan DVD release at silentera.com

## External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Don Juan (1926 film).

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Don Juan (1926 film)

* Don Juan at the American Film Institute Catalog
* Don Juan at IMDb
* Don Juan at AllMovie
* Don Juan at the TCM Movie Database
* Lobby poster (DoctorMacro)
* Atmospheric graveyard scene deleted from the final version of the film (archived)

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Alan Crosland

* Kidnapped (1917)
* The Light in Darkness (1917)
* The Little Chevalier (1917)
* The Apple Tree Girl (1917)
* Chris and His Wonderful Lamp (1917)
* The Whirlpool (1918)
* The Unbeliever (1918)
* The Country Cousin (1919)
* The Flapper (1920)
* The Point of View (1920)
* Broadway and Home (1920)
* Youthful Folly (1920)
* Everybody's Sweetheart (1920)
* Room and Board (1921)
* Worlds Apart (1921)
* Is Life Worth Living? (1921)
* Shadows of the Sea (1922)
* The Snitching Hour (1922)
* Slim Shoulders (1922)
* Why Announce Your Marriage? (1922)
* The Face in the Fog (1922)
* The Prophet's Paradise (1922)
* Enemies of Women (1923)
* Under the Red Robe (1923)
* Three Weeks (1924)
* Miami (1924)
* Unguarded Women (1924)
* Sinners in Heaven (1924)
* Contraband (1925)
* Bobbed Hair (1925)
* Compromise (1925)
* Don Juan (1926)
* When a Man Loves (1927)
* The Beloved Rogue (1927)
* Old San Francisco (1927)
* The Jazz Singer (1927)
* Glorious Betsy (1928)
* The Scarlet Lady (1928)
* On with the Show! (1929)
* General Crack (1929)
* The Furies (1930)
* Song of the flame (1930)
* Viennese Nights (1930)
* Captain Thunder (1930)
* Big Boy (1930)
* Children of Dreams (1931)
* The Silver Lining (1932)
* Week Ends Only (1932)
* Massacre (1934)
* The Personality Kid (1934)
* Midnight Alibi (1934)
* The Case of the Howling Dog (1934)
* It Happened in New York (1935)
* Mister Dynamite (1935)
* Lady Tubbs (1935)
* King Solomon of Broadway (1935)
* The Great Impersonation (1935)
* The White Cockatoo (1935)
* The Case of the Black Cat (1936)

* v
* t
* e

Don Juan

Films|

* Don Juan Tenorio (1898)
* Don Juan (1913)
* Don Juan (1922)
* The Lucky Horseshoe (1925)
* Don Juan (1926)
* The Private Life of Don Juan (1934)
* Adventures of Don Juan (1948)
* The Adventures of Mandrin (1952)
* Crossed Swords (1954)
* Don Juan (1955)
* Don Juan (1956)
* The Devil's Eye (1960)
* Don Juan in Sicily (1967)
* Don Juan (1969)
* Don Juan, or If Don Juan Were a Woman (1973)
* Don Juan (1974)
* Don Giovanni (1979)
* Little Tragedies (1979)
* Don Juan in Hell (1995)
* Don Juan DeMarco (1995)
* "El Toro Relajo"
* "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?"
* Don Juan (1998)
* Broken Flowers (2005)
* Don Jon (2013)

Plays|

* The Trickster of Seville and the Stone Guest (1630)
* Dom Juan (1665)
* The Libertine (1676)
* The Stone Guest (1830)
* Don Juan Tenorio (1844)
* Don Juan (1862)
* Man and Superman (1905)
* Don Juan (1959)
* Don Juan in Soho (2006)
* A Free Man of Color (2010)

Operas|

* L'empio punito (1669)
* La pravità castigata  (1730)
* Don Giovanni (1787)
* "Là ci darem la mano "
* "Madamina, il catalogo è questo"
* Discography
* Don Giovanni Tenorio (1787)
* Réminiscences de Don Juan (1841)
* The Stone Guest (1872)
* Margarita la tornera (1909)
* Flammen (1932)

Other music|

* Don Juan (ballet, 1761)
* Don Juan (tone poem, 1888)
* Don Juan Triumphant (fictional, 1910)
* John Gavanti (album, 1980)
* Don Giovanni (album, 1986)
* Don Juan (musical, 2003)
* "Don Juan" (song, 2012)

Poems|

* Don Juan (1821)
* El estudiante de Salamanca (1840)

Novels|

* Don Giovanni in Sicilia (1941)
* Blue of Noon (1957)
* Mary and the Giant (1987)

Authority control databases: National |

* United States

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