Our Modern Maidens | 1929 | Comedy-Drama, Romance

Title: Our Modern Maidens | 1929 | Comedy-Drama, Romance Director: Jack Conway Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Starring: Joan Crawford, Rod La Rocque, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Anita Page Release Date: September 8, 1929 Runtime: 76 Format: Black-and-white; silent with synchronized musical score and sound effects; Western Electric system; Movietone music and effects Country: United States Language: Silent with English intertitles Genres: Comedy-Drama, Romance --- Chapters: 00:00:00 Jazz Age prologue 00:16:00 Engagement and ambitions 00:33:00 Diplomatic favor and shifting affections 00:50:00 Wedding and revelation 01:07:00 Annulment and resolution --- Summary: An heiress of the Jazz Age, Billie Brown, is engaged to budding diplomat Gil Jordan. Seeking to secure Gil a prestigious posting, Billie charms senior diplomat Glenn Abbott, only to find herself drawn to him. Meanwhile, Gil grows close to Billie's friend Kentucky Strafford, whose unexpected pregnancy forces all four to confront the consequences of their desires. The story follows the quartet through romantic missteps, a hurried marriage, and an eventual annulment, culminating in pragmatic pairings that reflect changing social mores at the end of the silent era. --- Background: Released during the transition to sound, the film was presented without spoken dialogue but with a synchronized musical score and sound effects. It features Joan Crawford in her final silent-era performance and pairs her on screen with Douglas Fairbanks Jr., whom she married in June 1929. Production design was by Cedric Gibbons, with the early-sound presentation employing Western Electric recording and Movietone music and effects under Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer distribution. --- Trivia: Douglas Fairbanks Jr. performs comic impressions during a party sequence, including an homage to his father’s Robin Hood. The film’s theme song, “I’ve Waited a Lifetime for You,” was by lyricist Joe Goodwin and composer Gus Edwards. Box-office records indicate domestic earnings of approximately $675,000 and about $182,000 overseas, returning a profit for MGM. The picture was released with both sound-on-film effects and synchronized score despite having no audible dialogue, a hallmark of late-silent features. --- Public Domain / Rights: Original Release: September 8, 1929 Original Studio / Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Copyright Status: Public Domain --- Hashtags: OurModernMaidens JoanCrawford DouglasFairbanksJr RodLaRocque AnitaPage SilentFilm PreCode MGM 1929 ClassicCinema PublicDomain Source page: https: //commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Our_Modern_Maidens_(1929).webm Direct media URL: https: //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Our_Modern_Maidens_%281929%29.webm