When a Man Loves
When a Man Loves is a 1927 American silent historical drama film directed by Alan Crosland and produced and distributed by Warner Bros.. The picture stars John Barrymore and features Dolores Costello in the frequently filmed story of Abbe Prevost's 1731 novel Manon Lescaut. The UK release title was His Lady.
The film was the third feature from Warners to have a pre-recorded Vitaphone soundtrack.
Plot
Chevalier Fabien des Grieux, who has forsworn the world for the church, falls passionately in love with young Manon Lescaut when he encounters her en route to a convent with her brother André. The lustful Comte Guillot de Morfontaine offers André a tempting sum for Manon, and learning of their bargain, Fabien takes her to Paris, where they spend an idyllic week in a garret. André finds her, persuades her to leave Fabien, and tries to force her into an alliance with Morfontaine—then rescues Manon from the advances of a brutal Apache. Fabien, crushed to believe that Manon has become Morfontaine's mistress, is about to take his vows but is deterred by her love for him. King Louis sees Manon in Richelieu's drawing room and wins her. The rejected Morfontaine orders her arrest and deportation, but he is killed by Fabien, who joins Manon on a convict ship bound for America. After inciting the convicts to mutiny, he escapes with her in a small boat.Cast
- John Barrymore as Chevalier Fabien des Grieux
- Dolores Costello as Manon Lescaut
- Warner Oland as André Lescaut
- Sam De Grasse as Comte Guillot de Morfontaine
- Holmes Herbert as Jean Tiberge
- Stuart Holmes as Louis XV, King of France
- Bertram Grassby as Le Duc de Richelieu
- Tom Santschi as Captain of convict boat
- Marcelle Corday as Marie, a servant
- Charles Clary as a lay brother
- Templar Saxe as Baron Chevral
- Eugenie Besserer as the landlady
- Rose Dione as Nana
- Noble Johnson as an Apache
- Tom Wilson as convict aboard the boat
- Myrna Loy as woman on ship
- Source:
Production
Many of the people who worked on the previous year's Don Juan worked on When a Man Loves, such as director Crosland, writer Bess Meredyth, editor Harold McCord, and director of photography Byron Haskin.
Response
When the film played in the theater, the audience was so amazed that the sound was coming from the speakers, not from an actual live orchestra. A New York Times reviewer wrote that he, and probably the rest of the audience, forgot the fact that there was actually no orchestra in the theater. At the end of the film, The Vitaphone Symphony Orchestra was shown to the audience for about 15 seconds.Box office
According to Warner Bros. records, the film earned $732,000 in the U.S. and $305,000 in other markets.Premiere Vitaphone short subjects
When a Man Loves premiered at the Selwyn Theatre in New York City on February 3, 1927.| Title | Year |
| Quartette from "Rigoletto" | 1927 |
| Van and Schenck "The Pennant Winning Battery of Songland" | 1927 |
| Charles Hackett of the Chicago Opera Company Sings "Questa o quella" and "La donna è mobile" from "Rigoletto" | 1927 |
Home media
On June 16, 2009, When a Man Loves was released on DVD from Warner's Archive Collection. This was the film's first home video appearance.Other film versions
- Manon Lescaut
- Manon Lescaut
- Manon Lescaut