{{short description|1922 film}} {{Use American English|date=September 2021}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2020}} {{Infobox film | name = Broken Chains | image = Broken chains 1.jpg | caption = Theatrical poster | director = [[Allen Holubar]] | producer = Allen Holubar | screenplay = [[Carey Wilson (writer)|Carey Wilson]]<br />[[Tay Garnett]] | story = [[Winifred Kimball]] | starring = {{plainlist|* [[Colleen Moore]] * [[Malcolm McGregor]] * [[Ernest Torrence]]}} | cinematography = [[Byron Haskin]] | studio = [[Goldwyn Pictures|Goldwyn Pictures Corporation]] | distributor = [[Goldwyn Pictures|Goldwyn Distributing Company]] | released = {{film date|1922|12|10}} | runtime = 70 minutess | country = [[United States]] | language = [[Silent film|Silent]]<br />[[English language|English]] [[intertitle]]s | budget = | gross = }} '''''Broken Chains''''' is a [[1922 in film|1922]] [[United States|American]] [[silent film|silent]] [[melodrama (film genre)|melodrama]] film directed by [[Allen Holubar]]. Starring [[Colleen Moore]], [[Malcolm McGregor]], and [[Ernest Torrence]], it was based on the winning story from a scenario contest held by the [[Goldwyn Pictures|Goldwyn Pictures Corporation]] and the ''[[Chicago Daily News]]''. A print of ''Broken Chains'' is preserved at the [[George Eastman Museum]] archive.<ref name=silentera/>
==Plot== [[Image:Broken chains (1922, still 1).jpg|180px|left|thumb|[[Colleen Moore]] and [[Malcolm McGregor]] in ''Broken Chains''.]] Wealthy Peter Wyndham is useless in attempting to prevent the theft of Hortense Allen's jewelry. A butler is killed during the robbery, and, unable to face his cowardice, Peter heads west. He takes a job working for his father's lumber mill. Meanwhile, elsewhere, Mercy Boone's newborn child has died. Boyan Boone, her husband, is callous towards the loss. He is a thug and ne'er-do-well, with a band of thieves working with him. When Mercy attempts to escape, she meets Peter before Boyan returns her to his cabin where he chains her. Peter finds her and they begin a romance under Boyan's nose. Boyan learns and beats up Peter, who summons the strength to fight him for the honor of Mercy. {{clear|left}}
[[Image:Broken Chains lobby card 1.jpg|250px|right|thumb|Lobby card of [[Colleen Moore]] and [[Malcolm McGregor]] in ''Broken Chains''.]]
==Cast== *[[Malcolm McGregor]] as Peter Wyndham *[[Colleen Moore]] as Mercy Boone *[[Ernest Torrence]] as Boyan Boone *[[Claire Windsor]] as Hortense Allen *[[James Marcus (American actor)|James Marcus]] as Pat Mulcahy *[[Beryl Mercer]] as Mrs Mulcahy *[[William Orlamond]] as Slog Sallee *[[Gerald Pring]] as Butler *[[Edward Peil Sr.]] as Burglar (credited as Edward Peil) *[[Leo Willis]] as Gus
==Production== The ''[[Chicago Daily News]]'', together with [[Goldwyn Pictures|The Goldwyn Company]], held a national scenario writing contest in 1921;{{efn|Scenario writing contests were common promotional devices at the time.<ref name=Morey/>}} first prize was $10,000 and a Goldwyn production based on the story.<ref name=LD_contest/> Among 27,000 entries, Winifred Kimball's "Broken Chains" was selected.<ref name=TFD2005/> The story was then given to experienced scenarist Carey Wilson to make it ready for filming.<ref name=Deseret/><ref name=Variety6612/>
[[Allen Holubar]] was borrowed from Associated First National for the project.<ref name=TFD2028/> Colleen Moore was the first actor to be cast.<ref name=Deseret/> Stories in the trade press suggested concerns as to whether she would be equal to the heavily dramatic role,<ref name=GrnRmJot/> but her prior work was not limited to comedy and she had not been typecast.<ref name=Golden2000/> The role was expected to be her big break but failed to establish her as a star.<ref name=Codori/>
Casting was complete by June and filming was started. Portions of the film were shot in Northern California, near [[Santa Cruz, California|Santa Cruz]] in an area known as Poverty Flats.<ref name=Young1998/> By August photography was completed.
==Reception== ''Broken Chains'' premiered December 10, 1922, in New York and Los Angeles, and went into general release December 24.<ref name=AFI/>
The ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' reviewer devoted several paragraphs to criticizing the climactic fight scene, calling it "preposterous" and reporting that the audience made fun of it. The plot overall was called "conventional"; however, the cast was commended.<ref name=VarietyRvw/> The review in ''[[The Film Daily]]'' found the scenario disappointing and opined, "The theme suffers severely from extreme characterization in each of the principal people." The reviewer advised exhibitors that the film "will satisfy those who still like the old-fashioned type of meller" and called the posters good looking.<ref name=TFDrvw/>
In contrast, a review in ''Photodramatist'', a magazine aimed at writers, praised both the story and the production: "There is the consummate handling of a subtle and really difficult theme, the sure touch in characterizations which so easily could have slipped into burlesque and bathos, the rapid piling of suspense on peril until the cumulative effect is terrific."<ref name=Photodram/> A critic for the ''Santa Cruz Evening News'', locale of the exterior filming, singled out Moore for praise: "Colleen Moore ... attains new laurels as an emotional actress. Her work is thoroughly convincing during the difficult sequences ..."<ref name=SCENrvw/>
==References== ;Notes {{notelist}}
;Citations {{reflist|30em|refs= <ref name=silentera>{{cite web|title=Broken Chains|editor-first=Carl|editor-last=Bennett|date=March 29, 2015|work=Progressive Silent Film List|url=http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/B/BrokenChains1922.html|access-date=September 30, 2015|via=silent Era}}</ref> <ref name=Morey>{{cite book|last=Morey|first=Anne|editor1=Gregg Bachman|editor2=Thomas J. Slater|title=American Silent Film: Discovering Marginalized Voices|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DbhLdhgdlu4C&pg=PA52|publisher=SIU Press|isbn=978-0-8093-8910-0|page=52|chapter=Have You The Power?}}</ref> <ref name=LD_contest>{{cite journal|title=The Chicago Daily News $30,000 Scenario Contest (advertisement)|journal=[[The Literary Digest]]|volume=70|issue=11|page=67|date=September 10, 1921|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xm1FAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA5-PA67}}</ref> <ref name=TFD2005>{{cite journal|title=27,000 Scenarios|date=April 5, 1922|journal=[[The Film Daily]]|volume=XX|issue=5|pages=1–2|url=https://archive.org/stream/filmdaily1920newy#page/n644/mode/1up|access-date=September 30, 2015|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> <ref name=Deseret>{{cite news|title=Colleen Moore Will Play Lead in Prize Scenario Production|date=June 1, 1922|newspaper=Deseret News|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=336&dat=19220601&id=fV0dAAAAIBAJ&pg=5754,3665223&hl=en|page=VII|access-date=September 30, 2015}}</ref> <ref name=Variety6612>{{cite journal|title=Coast Film News|department=Pictures|journal=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|volume=LXVI|issue=12|page=34|date=May 12, 1922|url=https://archive.org/stream/variety66-1922-05#page/n73/mode/1up/search/chains|access-date=September 30, 2015|via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref> <ref name=Codori>{{cite book|first=Jeff|last=Codori|year=2012|title=Colleen Moore: A Biography of the Silent Film Star|publisher=McFarland|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6gzhHmLmxm8C&pg=PA104|isbn=978-0-7864-4969-9|pages=104–105}}</ref> <ref name=TFD2028>{{cite journal|title=Holubar to Make One for Goldwyn|journal=The Film Daily|date=April 28, 1922|volume=XX|issue=28|page=1|url=https://archive.org/stream/filmdaily1920newy#page/n802/mode/1up|access-date=September 30, 2015|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> <ref name=GrnRmJot>{{cite journal|title=Green Room Jottings|journal=Motion Picture|date=November 1922|volume=XXIV|issue=10|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mxQXAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA124-IA209|page=83}}</ref> <ref name=Young1998>{{cite web|last=Young|first=Ann|title=Early Film Studios in Santa Cruz County|work=Santa Cruz County History|publisher=Santa Cruz Public Libraries|year=1998|url=http://www.santacruzpl.org/history/articles/295/|access-date=October 13, 2010}}</ref> <ref name=AFI>{{cite news|title=Broken Chains|work=Catalog of Feature Films|publisher=American Film Institute|url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=3077|access-date=September 30, 2015}}</ref> <ref name=VarietyRvw>{{cite journal|title=Broken Chains|journal=Variety|date=December 15, 1922|volume=LXIX|issue=4|page=40|url=https://archive.org/stream/variety69-1922-12#page/n119/mode/1up|access-date=September 30, 2015|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> <ref name=TFDrvw>{{cite journal|title=Disappointing For a Scenario That Brought the Writer $10,000|date=December 17, 1922|volume=XXII|issue=76|page=13|journal=The Film Daily|url=https://archive.org/stream/filmdaily2122newy#page/n1382/mode/1up|access-date=September 30, 2015|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> <ref name=Photodram>{{cite journal|last=Johnson|first=Sheldon Krag|title=Breaking in From the Top|journal=Photodramatist|pages=21–24; 30|date=January 1923|url=https://archive.org/stream/photodramatist32phot#page/21/mode/1up|access-date=September 30, 2015|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> <ref name=SCENrvw>{{cite news|title=Colleen Moore Wins Laurels in 'Broken Chains'|newspaper=Santa Cruz Evening News|date=March 20, 1923|page=4|url=http://www.santacruzpl.org/history/articles/newspapers/308/|access-date=September 30, 2015|via=Santa Cruz Public Libraries}}</ref> <ref name=Golden2000>{{cite book|last=Golden|first=Eve|author-link=Eve Golden|title=Golden Images: 41 Essays on Silent Film Stars|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zT1-QjkLnToC&pg=PA99|year=2000|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-8354-9|page=99|quote=No one knew quite what to do with her: Was she an ingenue ... an action heroine ... a comic ... a dramatic leading lady?}}</ref> }}
==External links== {{commons category|Broken Chains (1922 film)}} *{{IMDb title|0012980|Broken Chains}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Broken Chains (film)}} [[Category:1922 films]] [[Category:1922 adventure films]] [[Category:1922 American films]] [[Category:1922 English-language films]] [[Category:1922 romantic drama films]] [[Category:1920s adventure drama films]] [[Category:1920s melodrama films]] [[Category:American black-and-white films]] [[Category:American silent adventure drama films]] [[Category:American silent feature films]] [[Category:American silent romantic drama films]] [[Category:English-language adventure drama films]] [[Category:English-language romantic drama films]] [[Category:Films about adultery in the United States]] [[Category:Films based on short fiction]] [[Category:Films directed by Allen Holubar]] [[Category:Films shot in California]] [[Category:Goldwyn Pictures films]] [[Category:Surviving American silent films]]