The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1929)
This first cinematic version of the classic book is a part-talkie, although the only surviving print is silent (housed in the George Eastman House, Rochester, NY). It is a straight-forward telling of the intermingled lives of a group of strangers doomed to die in a collapsing bridge accident. The Art Direction, paltry and unremarkable, surprisingly won an Oscar over the far more remarkable work nominated in THE IRON MASK. The special effect scene of the lovers plummeting with the bridge into the chasm is unforgettable and remarkably done.
Director: Charles Brabin
 |
Lili Damita as Camila (La Perichole) |
 |
Ernest Torrence as Uncle Pio |
 |
Raquel Torres as Pepita |
 |
Don Alvarado as Manuel |
 |
Duncan Renaldo as Esteban |
 |
Henry B. Walthall as Father Juniper |
 |
Michael Vavitch as Viceroy |
 |
Emily Fitzroy as Marquesa |
 |
Jane Winton as Doña Carla |
| Directing | Charles Brabin | Director |
| Writing | Ruth Cummings | Writer |
| Writing | Alice D.G. Miller | Writer |
| Writing | Thornton Wilder | Novel |
| Writing | Marian Ainslee | Writer |
| Editing | Margaret Booth | Editor |
| Production | Hunt Stromberg | Producer |
| Art | Cedric Gibbons | Art Direction |
| Costume & Make-Up | Adrian | Costume Design |
| Camera | Merritt B. Gerstad | Director of Photography |
| Camera | Homer Van Pelt | Still Photographer |
