Peter Pan (1924) [1080p]

'Peter Pan is a 1924 American silent adventure film released by Paramount Pictures, the first film adaptation of the 1904 play by J. M. Barrie. It was directed by Herbert Brenon and starred Betty Bronson as Peter Pan, Ernest Torrence as Captain Hook, Mary Brian as Wendy, Virginia Browne Faire as Tinker Bell, Esther Ralston as Mrs. Darling, and Anna May Wong as the Native American princess Tiger Lily. The film was seen by Walt Disney, and inspired him to create his company's 1953 animated adaptation.

Cast

Betty Bronson as Peter Pan
Ernest Torrence as Captain Hook
Mary Brian as Wendy Darling
Jack Murphy as John Darling
Philippe De Lacy as Michael Darling
Virginia Brown Faire as Tinker Bell
George Ali as Nana the dog and Crocodile
Esther Ralston as Mrs. Darling
Cyril Chadwick as Mr. Darling
Anna May Wong as Tiger Lily
Maurice Murphy as Tootles
Mickey McBan as Slightly
George Crane Jr. as Curly
Winston Doty as 1st Twin
Weston Doty as 2nd Twin
Terence McMillan as Nibs
Louis Morrison as Gentleman Starkey
Edward Kipling as Smee
Robert Milasch as Kelt

Production

The film closely follows the plot of the original play, and even goes so far as to incorporate much of its original stage dialogue in the intertitles. Added scenes include Nana the dog pouring out Michael's medicine and giving him a bath, and Nana bursting into the home at which a party is being given, to warn Mr. and Mrs. Darling that Peter Pan and the Darling children are flying around the nursery.

Like the original play and several other versions, and unlike the 1953 Disney film, the 1924 version makes it clear that Wendy harbors a romantic attachment to Peter, but Peter only thinks of her as his mother. The film omits the scene An Afterthought, which Barrie wrote after the play was staged, and in which Peter returns for Wendy, only to find that years have passed and that she is now a married woman with a daughter. Barrie selected Bronson for the role of Peter.

Release and restoration

Peter Pan was first released in the United States on December 29, 1924. The distributor was Paramount Pictures. In Germany, where the premiere took place in December 1925, the distributor was UFA.

Since there was no national film archive in the United States and Paramount had no interest in a long-term distribution of the film – distributors held movies only as long in the program as they earned money – most copies of Peter Pan were destroyed over the years.

For decades, the film was thought to be lost. In the 1950s James Card, film restorer and curator of George Eastman House in Rochester, New York, discovered a well-preserved copy in a vault at the Eastman School of Music, and made a preservation of that source. Film historian David Pierce discovered an additional and hitherto unknown 16mm copy at the Disney Studios which had been made when the company acquired the rights to the property in 1938. A new restoration was undertaken by the George Eastman House combining the two sources in 1994, and Philip C. Carli composed new film music for it, which was premiered by the Flower City Society Orchestra at the 1996 Pordenone Silent Film Festival.

Reception

The film was celebrated at the time for its innovative use of special effects (mainly to show Tinker Bell) according to Disney's 45th anniversary video of their adaptation of Peter Pan. In 2000, this film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports an approval rating of 98% based on 42 reviews, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The website's consensus reads, "Armed with technical ingenuity and classic source material, Peter Pan brings J.M. Barrie's beloved fantasy to the screen in dazzling style."

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

2003: AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains:
Captain Hook – Nominated Villain

Directed by Herbert Brenon
Written by Willis Goldbeck
Based on Peter and Wendy
by J.M. Barrie
Produced by Famous Players–Lasky
Starring Betty Bronson
Ernest Torrence
Mary Brian
Virginia Brown Faire
Esther Ralston
Anna May Wong
Cinematography James Wong Howe
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date
December 29, 1924
Running time
105 minutes
Country United States
Language Silent (English intertitles)
Budget $40,030
Box office $630,229'

[lukesevron]

that will let me comment!
Anyway, There's NO WAY Betty Bronson fooled ANYBODY wearing pretty much a MINI SKIRT that left little to the imagination.
It seemed at times, that every shot of her was maximized to show off her legs. (Which I have NO objection to in this is supposed to be a BOY after all.... ) Betty didn't help things either by Pirouetting on her toes seemingly every chance she got.( It's kind of not her fault because she was a trained dancer, witch is why her legs looked so good.)
kissing. This must be one of THE MOST low-key horniest pseudo-lesbian films from ANY period I have EVER seen.
Betty Either kissed or had Skin-to-Skin contact with EVERY female actress in the movie! (😂🤣) This movie is a ONE HUNDRED years old black and white film that you CAN'T show to kids because they would have too many questions. 😅
The Scene with Wendy sewing peters shadow back on ALONE would cause outrage and is really a little too much.
But these are the reasons I like the movie, it's strange, weird, Bizarre and highly sexually charged from an era you wouldn't expect these things in a movie. O.K. now I'm going to cite the NORMAL things that I liked.

- "Peter" was a KILLER.
No nonsense, absolute killer. she was even ready to kill one of the lost boys! And killed Capt. Hook and most of his pirates HERSELF! That's hardcore for a 1924 kids movie!
- The Production values were really Good. you felt you we're there and they did location shooting which helped the immersion
- The special effects were pretty good, the flying sequences especially.
And that's it For the most part. I just HAD to write this review because almost EVERYBODY reviewing this movie all across the internet refuses to address all the sleazy subtext's in this film. (And for the record, I don't GIVE A SHIT betty was 16 when she filmed the movie, I'm just pointing out things; She was a sexy little tart and that's all there is to it, take it or leave.)
And that's all folks!