Phillips Holmes and Sylvia Sidney

Phillips Holmes as “Clyde Griffiths”, and

Sylvia Sidney as “Roberta Alden” in Josef von Sternberg’s Pre-Code American romantic drama, ‘An American Tragedy’ (1931), produced and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film is based on Theodore Dreiser's 1925 novel ‘An American Tragedy’ and its 1926 play adaptation. Both of these were based on the historic true-crime 1906 murder of Grace Brown by Chester Gillette at Big Moose Lake in upstate New York, which resulted in Chester Gillette's conviction and execution by electric chair in 1908.

In the film, a poor factory worker, “Clyde Griffiths” (Phillips Holmes), who is employed by a wealthy uncle, “Samuel Griffiths” (Frederick Burton), falls in love with a beautiful heiress, “Sondra Finchley” (Frances Dee), but his happiness and promising future are jeopardised by a previous affair with a coworker, “Roberta Alden” (Sylvia Sidney), who he impregnated.

The film also features Frances Dee as “Sondra Finchley”, as previously noted, Irving Pichel as “District Attorney Orville Mason”, Frederick Burton as “Samuel Griffiths”, as previously noted, Claire McDowell as “Mrs. Samuel Griffiths”, Wallace Middleton as “Gilbert Griffiths”, Emmett Corrigan as “Belknap”,

Charles B. Middleton as “Jephson”, Lucille La Verne as “Mrs. Asa Griffiths”, Albert Hart as “Titus Alden”, Fanny Midgley as “Mrs. Alden”, and Arnold Korff as “Judge Oberwaltzer”.

The novel would again be adapted in the Paramount release, George Stevens’ ‘A Place in the Sun’ (1951), with Montgomery Clift in the Phillips Holmes role, Elizabeth Taylor in the Frances Dee role, and Shelley Winters in the Sylvia Sidney role.

Remembering Sylvia Sidney (August 8, 1910 – July 1, 1999) on her birthday. She was an American stage, screen and film actress whose career spanned over 70 years. She would rise to prominence in dozens of leading roles in the 1930’s. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Gilbert Cates’ ‘Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams’ (1973), also starring Joanne Woodward and Martin Balsam. She later gained attention for her role as “Juno”, a case worker in the afterlife, in Tim Burton's ‘Beetlejuice’ (1988), also starring Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Jeffrey Jones, Catherine O'Hara, Winona Ryder, and Michael Keaton as the title character. For her role as “Juno”, Sylvia Sidney won a Saturn Award as Best Supporting Actress.