Locked Doors Explained

Locked Doors
Director:William C. deMille
Starring:Betty Compson
Cinematography:L. Guy Wilky
Editing:Adelaide Cannon
Distributor:Paramount Pictures
Runtime:70 minutes
Country:United States
Language:Silent (English intertitles)

Locked Doors is a 1925 American silent romantic drama film directed by William C. deMille and starring Betty Compson. It was produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures.[1] [2]

Plot

As described in a review in a film magazine,[3] Mary (Compson) is married to architect Norman Carter (Edeson) who is many years her senior. Norman also provides a home for her invalid father (Roberts) who spends his time cheating at solitaire and trying to get a drink. She respects him but does not love him although he is intensely in love with her. While visiting friends at a lodge in the mountains, she strikes up an acquaintance and then deliberately flirts with John Talbot (von Eltz), and they fall madly in love with another. Norman gives John a job at his office and, after discovering that John is in love with some married woman, invites him to his home to allow him to forget about her. Under the watchful eyes of the husband and his sister Laura (Williams), John and Mary pretend they have never met before and try to hide their love, but it grows more intense. When Norman discovers the truth, he decides to send John to work on a project in Italy. John recklessly goes to see Mary in her room to bid her farewell when a fire breaks out in the house. John cannot get out without now compromising Mary, and she refuses to leave him, so they stay there in her bedroom. Intending to save his wife, Norman breaks into the room and finds them together. The husband rescues Mary and John manages to get back to his own room. The next day, realizing that he will never have the love of his wife, Norman tells them that, while John is in Italy, he will arrange so that Mary can get her divorce so that they will be happy.

Preservation

With no prints of Locked Doors located in any film archives, it is considered a lost film.[4] [5]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Locked Doors . afi.com . March 21, 2024.
  2. http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/L/LockedDoors1925.html Progressive Silent Film List: Locked Doors
  3. Sewell . Charles S. . Locked Doors; William DeMille's Newest for Paramount is Dramatic Story of a Wife Who Loves Another Man . The Moving Picture World . 72 . 4 . 367–368 . Chalmers Publishing Co. . New York City . 24 January 1925 . 25 July 2021.
  4. Web site: American Silent Feature Film Database: Locked Doors . March 21, 2024 . Library of Congress.
  5. Web site: Locked Doors at Lost Film Files: Paramount Pictures Lost Films - 1925 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150822130955/http://www.silentsaregolden.com/arneparamountpictures.html . 2015-08-22 . 2024-03-21 . live . SilentsAreGolden.com.