The Persistent Lovers

{{short description|1922 film}} {{More citations needed|date=June 2021}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}} {{Use British English|date=May 2016}} {{Infobox film | name = The Persistent Lovers | image = | caption = | director = Guy Newall | producer = George Clark | based_on = {{based on|''The Persistent Lovers'' 1915 novel|A. Hamilton Gibbs}} | writer = Guy Newall | starring = Guy Newall Ivy Duke A. Bromley Davenport Julian Royce | music = | cinematography = Bert Ford | editing = | studio = George Clark Productions | distributor = Stoll Pictures | released = {{Film date|1922|04}} | runtime = 6,420 feet<ref>Low p.427</ref> | country = United Kingdom | language = Silent English intertitles | budget = }} '''''The Persistent Lovers ''''' is a 1922 British silent drama film directed by Guy Newall and starring Newall, Ivy Duke and A. Bromley Davenport.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BFI {{!}} Film & TV Database {{!}} The PERSISTENT LOVERS (1922) |url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/46224 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090206224726/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/46224 |archive-date=2009-02-06 |access-date=2026-05-13 |website=ftvdb.bfi.org.uk |language=en}}</ref> It was an adaptation of a 1915 novel by A. Hamilton Gibbs.

==Plot summary== Richard Ardley-Manners, the irresponsible son of Reverend Ardley-Manners and a former Oxford student without a clear career path, wins the heart of Lady Audrey Beaumont, a fascinating and unconventional girl. To his surprise, he discovers that she is the daughter of a duke, specifically the Duke of Harborough. Seeking a way to be worthy of her, Ardley-Manners takes up work on a Devon fruit farm to become a better man. Meanwhile, Lady Audrey, fleeing from her father's anger and seeking her own path, leaves the ducal estate to become a dairymaid, demonstrating her independent nature and devotion to her own beliefs. The love between Richard and Lady Audrey persists despite the challenges posed by their social standings and familial expectations.

== Production == Half of the film's scenes were shot in Nice, France while Newall's Beaconsfield Film Studios was under construction.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BFI Screenonline: Newall, Guy (1885-1937) Biography |url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/862832/index.html |access-date=2024-03-06 |website=www.screenonline.org.uk}}</ref> In order to maintain the appearance of an "English" film, Newall chose English-style "interiors" for filming locations.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JTBGyDcWp-0C&dq=%22the+persistent+lovers%22+%22guy+newall%22&pg=RA5-PA14 |title=G.C.P.: The Official Journal of the George Clark Productions |date=1920 |publisher=George Clark Productions |language=en}}</ref> Most of the "exteriors" were photographed on the Norfolk Broads.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5ZYcAQAAMAAJ&dq=%22the+persistent+lovers%22+%22guy+newall%22&pg=RA13-PA9 |title=Motion Picture Studio |date=1922 |language=en}}</ref>

During one scene, Ivy Duke punches Lawford Davidson "in the ear" to admonish his misbehavior. Lawford Davidson later reported: "But the first punch I received was a very meek one, and I remonstrated 'That won't do, you must really hit me. After that there were about three rehearsals, the last was 'shot'—and by that time I received such an effective punch, that I had jaw-ache for three whole days."<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JTBGyDcWp-0C&dq=%22the+persistent+lovers%22+%22guy+newall%22&pg=RA5-PA14 |title=G.C.P.: The Official Journal of the George Clark Productions |date=1920 |publisher=George Clark Productions |language=en}}</ref>

==Cast== thumb|right|upright=0.7|Guy Newall and Ivy Duke in ''Persistent Lovers'', published in ''The Picturegoer'', May 1922.

* Guy Newall - Richard Ardley-Manners * Ivy Duke - Lady Audrey Beaumont * A. Bromley Davenport - Duke of Harborough * Julian Royce - Anthony Waring * Lawford Davidson - Honorable Ivor Jocelyn * Barbara Everest - Joyce * Douglas Munro - John * Ernest A. Douglas - Reverend Ardley-Manners * Emilie Nichol - Duchess

==References== <references/>

==Bibliography== * Low, Rachael. ''History of the British Film, 1918-1929''. George Allen & Unwin, 1971.

==External links== * {{IMDb title|0013493}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Persistent Lovers, The}} Category:1922 films Category:Films based on British novels Category:Films directed by Guy Newall Category:1922 drama films Category:British silent feature films Category:British black-and-white films Category:Films set in England Category:1922 English-language films Category:1922 British films Category:British silent drama films Category:English-language drama films