The Age of Innocence (1934 film) explained

The Age of Innocence
Director:Philip Moeller
Producer:Pandro S. Berman
Based On:The Age of Innocence (1920 novel)
The Age of Innocence (1928 play)
Narrator:John Boles
Screenplay:Sarah Y. Mason
Victor Heerman
Starring:Irene Dunne
John Boles
Lionel Atwill
Music:Max Steiner (uncredited)
Cinematography:James Van Trees
Editing:George Hively
Studio:RKO Radio Pictures
Distributor:RKO Radio Pictures
Runtime:81 minutes
Country:United States
Language:English

The Age of Innocence is a 1934 American drama film directed by Philip Moeller and starring Irene Dunne, John Boles and Lionel Atwill.[1] The film is an adaptation of the 1920 novel The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, set in the fashionable New York society of the 1870s. Prolific on Broadway, Philip Moeller directed only two films: this, and the 1935 Break of Hearts with Katharine Hepburn.

The novel was also adapted in a 1924 silent film version starring Beverly Bayne and a 1993 film version that starred Michelle Pfeiffer. A 1928 Broadway stage adaptation starred Katharine Cornell.[2]

Plot

At his 1875 engagement party, the wealthy Newland Archer is surprised to meet his childhood friend Ellen, beautiful and grown up and now Countess Olenska. Olenska is the cousin of his fiancee May and is considered scandalous by the strait-laced society of the time. Newland, however, treats her well and sends her two dozen yellow roses. Olenska turns to Newland for advice about a possible divorce.[3]

Cast

Reception

The film was a box-office disappointment.[4]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: BFI | Film & TV Database | The AGE OF INNOCENCE (1934). February 6, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090206204328/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/25904. 2009-02-06.
  2. http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/5810/The-Age-of-Innocence/articles.html The Age of Innocence
  3. Web site: The Age of Innocence (1934) - Philip Moeller, Phillip Moeller | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie. www.allmovie.com.
  4. Churchill, Douglas W. The Year in Hollywood: 1934 May Be Remembered as the Beginning of the Sweetness-and-Light Era (gate locked); New York Times [New York, N.Y] 30 Dec 1934: X5. Retrieved December 16, 2013.