Gloria Swanson

SADIE THOMPSON

United Artists, 1928.  Directed by Raoul Walsh.  Camera:  Oliver Marsh.  With Gloria Swanson, Lionel Barrymore, Raoul Walsh, Blanche Frederici, Charles Lane.

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During his lifetime Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) was best known for such novels as Of Human Bondage and such plays as The Circle.  Today, however, he is chiefly recalled for his short stories, of which the 1921 "Miss Thompson" is easily the most famous.  The original story was soon adapted for the stage under the title Rain—and it was a tremendous success.  The play has been performed countless times and continues to be revived on a consistent basis; there have also been three major screen adaptations.

The best of these is the 1928 silent film Sadie Thompson, starring Gloria Swanson (1897-1983).  Swanson was perhaps the first Hollywood "Diva," an actress as controversial as she was popular.  By the late 1920s her liaison with the infamous Joe Kennedy (father of John, Robert, and Ted) gave her the clout to become her own producer and, with Kennedy money behind her, she selected the Maugham story and cast herself in the title role.

It was an inspired choice.  Swanson had somewhat hard features and tremendous attitude, and many consider that this is her best overall performance.  The story concerns the collision of a brash prostitute (Swanson) and a holier-than-thou minister (Lionel Barrymore) who find themselves trapped by quarantine and monsoon rains in a rundown hotel on Pago-Pago.  Needless to say, the sparks fly—especially when Davidson pressures the island governor to deport Sadie as soon as possible.  But it gradually transpires that Davidson may have more than one reason for wanting Sadie gone:  it may be that he finds her a temptation himself.

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