The Bridge of San Luis Rey
30/03/1929
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.
Movie Information
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
