The Private Life of Helen of Troy

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The Private Life of Helen of Troy
Directed byAlexander Korda
Written byGerald C. Duffy (intertitles)
Ralph Spence (intertitles)
Casey Robinson (intertitles)
Based onThe Private Life of Helen of Troy
by John Erskine
Produced byRichard A. Rowland
StarringMaría Corda
Lewis Stone
Ricardo Cortez
CinematographyLee Garmes
Sidney Hickox
Edited byHarold Young
Music byCarl Edouarde
Cecil Copping (NYC premiere, uncredited)
Distributed byFirst National Pictures
Release dates
  • December 9, 1927 (1927-12-09) (NYC)
  • January 8, 1928 (1928-01-08) (Nationwide)
Running time
57 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent (English intertitles)

The Private Life of Helen of Troy is a 1927 American silent comedy adventure film about Helen of Troy based on the 1925 novel of the same name by John Erskine, and adapted to screen by Gerald Duffy. The film was directed by Alexander Korda and starred María Corda as Helen, Lewis Stone as Menelaus, and Ricardo Cortez as Paris.[1]

Cast[edit]

Reception[edit]

Released at the end of the silent film era, The Private Life of Helen of Troy was nominated for an Academy Award in 1929, the year of the Awards' inception, in the category of Best Title Writing. Duffy died on June 25, 1928, and was the first person to be posthumously nominated for an Academy Award.[2]

That same year, the first "talkie", The Jazz Singer, received an honorary award for introducing sound to film, and the category for which The Private Life of Helen of Troy was nominated was dropped by the second Academy Awards.[citation needed]

Preservation[edit]

Two sections from the beginning and end, running about 27–30 minutes in total, are reportedly all that survive of The Private Life of Helen of Troy; they are preserved by the British Film Institute.[1][3]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Progressive Silent Film List: The Private Life of Helen of Troy at silentera.com
  2. ^ King, Susan (February 24, 2017). "August Wilson is in good company among posthumous Oscar nominees and winners". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  3. ^ The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: The Private Life of Helen of Troy

External links[edit]