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The Barker

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1928 film For other uses, see Barker (disambiguation).

The Barker
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGeorge Fitzmaurice
Written byBenjamin Glazer
Joseph Jackson
Herman J. Mankiewicz (titles)
Based onThe Barker
by Kenyon Nicholson
Produced byAl Rockett
Richard A. Rowland
StarringMilton Sills
Dorothy Mackaill
Betty Compson
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
CinematographyLee Garmes
Edited byStuart Heisler
Music byLouis Silvers
Production
company		First National Pictures
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release date
  • December 9, 1928 (1928-12-09)
Running time87 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguagesEnglish (Intertitles and talking scenes)

The Barker is a 1928 American part-talkie pre-Code romantic drama film produced and released by First National Pictures, a subsidiary of Warner Bros., acquired in September 1928. The film was directed by George Fitzmaurice and stars Milton Sills, Dorothy Mackaill, Betty Compson, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. The Barker is a part-talkie with talking sequences and sequences with synchronized musical scoring and sound effects. The film was adapted by Benjamin Glazer, Joseph Jackson and Herman J. Mankiewicz from the play by Kenyon Nicholson.

The Broadway play of the same name which opened at the Biltmore Theatre January 18, 1927 and ran until July 1927 for 221 performances. In the stage production Walter Huston was "Nifty" and a still relatively unknown Claudette Colbert was "Lou", played in the film by Dorothy Mackaill.

Plot

The film tells the story of a woman, Lou (Dorothy Mackaill), who comes between a man, Nifty Miller (Milton Sills), and his estranged son Chris (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.). Nifty is a carnival barker who is in love with a dancing girl and is ambitious to have his son, Chris, become a lawyer. Chris has other ideas and during his vacation he hops a freight, joins the carnival, and weds a dancing girl (Mackaill). Eventually, Chris fulfills the ambition his father had for him.

Cast

Uncredited:

Awards and honors

Year Award Result Category Recipient
1928 Academy Award Nominated Best Actress in a Leading Role Betty Compson

Preservation

The film survives intact with its talking sequences and has been preserved by the UCLA Film and Television Archive and the Museum of Modern Art.

Remakes

The Barker was remade as Hoop-La (1933) with Clara Bow and as Diamond Horseshoe (1945) with Betty Grable. Japanese director Yasujirō Ozu remade this film (without crediting the original) as A Story of Floating Weeds (1934) and again as Floating Weeds (1959).

See also

References

  1. The Barker at silentera.com
  2. The American Film Institute Catalog Feature Films: 1921-30 by The American Film Institute, (1971)
  3. The Barker on Broadway at the Biltmore Hotel, Jan. 18 1927 to July 1927; IBDb.com
  4. Library of Congress/ FIAF American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: The Barker
  5. The Barker at UCLA Film and Television Archive

External links

Films directed by George Fitzmaurice
Categories: