The Bells (1931 film)

The Bells is a 1931 British drama film directed by Harcourt Templeman and Oscar Werndorff and starring Donald Calthrop, Jane Welsh, and Edward Sinclair.[1]

The Bells (1931 film)
Directed byHarcourt Templeman
Oscar Werndorff
Written byC. H. Dand
Based onThe Bells
by Leopold Lewis
Produced bySergei Nolbandov
Isidore Schlesinger
StarringDonald Calthrop
Jane Welsh
Edward Sinclair
Music byGustav Holst
Production
company
British Sound Film Productions
Distributed byProducers Distributing Corporation
Release date
1931
Running time
75 minutes
CountryUK
LanguageEnglish

The film was originally released with the only film score written by Gustav Holst. It was based on the play Le Juif Polonais by Alexandre Chatrian and Emile Erckmann, and the English version, The Bells by Leopold Lewis.

Plot

Mathias, an Alsatian innkeeper, murders a rich Pole staying at his inn. His conscience will not let him rest, and the Pole's spirit drives him nearly mad.

The victim's brother calls for an inquest and brings a sideshow hypnotist, who is supposed to read minds. Mathias, as burgomaster, is called upon to conduct the inquest but, under the intuitive eye of the hypnotist, cannot endure the torment of his own conscience.

Cast

Loss

The Bells is now considered a lost film. In 1974, Imogen Holst wrote that its score is also lost.[2]

See also

References
  1. BFI Database entry
  2. Imogen Holst, A Thematic Catalogue of Gustav Holst's Music, p. 189 (London: Faber and Faber, 1974) ISBN 0-571-10004-X.

Bibliography
  • Bergfelder, Tim & Cargnelli, Christian, Destination London: German-speaking EmigrĂ©s and British Cinema, 1925-1950 (Berghahn Books, 2008)


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.