The Midnight Sun (1926 film)

The Midnight Sun is a 1926 American silent drama film directed by Dimitri Buchowetzki and starring Laura La Plante, Pat O'Malley, and Michael Vavitch.[1] It is based on a novel by the French writer Pierre Benoît.[2] The film is set in pre-Revolutionary Tsarist Russia.

Ad in The Film Daily, 1926

The Midnight Sun
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Directed byDimitri Buchowetzki
Written byAndrew Percival Younger
Based onLe Soleil de minuit
by Pierre Benoît
Produced byCarl Laemmle
StarringLaura La Plante
Pat O'Malley
Michael Vavitch
CinematographyJackson Rose
Ernest F. Smith
Music byEdward Kilenyi
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • April 23, 1926 (1926-04-23)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent (English intertitles)

The film includes a brief scene shot in Technicolor.

Plot

As described in a film magazine,[3] American Olga Morova dances in the Russian ballet where she is known as 'The Midnight Sun'. She has attracted the attentions of banker Ivan Kusmin, the Grand Duke Sergius, and young officer Alexei Orloff. She flirts with the first two but falls in love with Alexei. However, the young officer misinterprets her presence in the Grand Duke's chambers and slaps her, and as a result faces a court-martial where he is sentenced to death. Frantic with grief, Olga goes through many sacrifices and adventures, including incidents where a gunboat chases a yacht and a wild automobile ride, to save Alexei from execution. In the end she is successful, and the lovers are reunited.

Cast

Production

Some on-location scenes were filmed in Truckee, California.[2]

Preservation

A complete print of The Midnight Sun is located in the UCLA Film and Television Archive.[4] It has not been released to the public on dvd or other format.[5]

References
  1. Munden p. 511
  2. Progressive Silent Film List: The Midnight Sun at silentera.com
  3. Simmons, Michael L. (May 1, 1926). "Box Office Review: The Midnight Sun". Exhibitors Daily Review. New York City: Exhibitors Review Publishing Corporation. 19 (34): 15. Retrieved October 20, 2023. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: The Midnight Sun
  5. Movie Silently's Ten Most Wanted Silent Films (That Still Live in Vaults), at moviessilently.com

Bibliography
  • Munden, Kenneth White. The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States, Part 1. University of California Press, 1997.
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