# The Way of All Men > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/The_Way_of_All_Men > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/The_Way_of_All_Men.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_of_All_Men > Source revision: 1350948622 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) 1930 film This article needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "The Way of All Men" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message) The Way of All Men Theatrical poster Directed by Frank Lloyd Screenplay by Bradley King Based on "The Sin Flood" by Henning Berger Produced by Frank Lloyd Starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Dorothy Revier Noah Beery Dorothy Mathews Cinematography Sidney Hickox Edited by Ray Curtiss Distributed by First National Pictures, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Pictures Release date September 7, 1930 (1930-09-07) (U.S.) Running time 69 minutes Country United States Language English ***The Way of All Men*** is a 1930 American [Pre-Code](/source/Pre-Code) [drama film](/source/Drama_film) directed by [Frank Lloyd](/source/Frank_Lloyd) and starring [Douglas Fairbanks Jr.](/source/Douglas_Fairbanks_Jr.), [Dorothy Revier](/source/Dorothy_Revier) and [Noah Beery](/source/Noah_Beery). It was produced and released by [First National Pictures](/source/First_National_Pictures), a subsidiary of [Warner Bros. Pictures](/source/Warner_Bros._Pictures). The film was based on the story entitled "The Sin Flood", by Henning Berger and appeared as a silent in 1922 also directed by Frank Lloyd. In 1931, the studio remade the film in German as *[Die Maske fällt](#Foreign-language_version)*.[1] ## Plot Billy Bear is a broker's clerk who has recently been fired because some information has been leaked to a rival broker. Billy goes to work with the rival broker, offering him valuable information about his former employer. Fairbanks falls in love with his employer's daughter, Edna, a wealthy socialite. Billy abandons his old girlfriend, Poppy, who is a showgirl. One a hot summer's day, Billy goes to a luxurious underground bar, run by Stratton. A tornado descends on the town, the river rises, and suddenly they find themselves trapped in the bar by a break in the levee which pours the flood waters through the streets of the town, which is situated below sea level. A number of people flee into the bar just before the steel flood doors are closed and locked tight, making the place air-tight and safe from water. The film now focuses on the people trapped in the bar and how they act when they are facing circumstances where they are all facing death in a matter of hours. The majority of the trapped people completely change their normal way of acting and attempt to make amends for the things they regret having done. Billy asks Poppy for her forgiveness and professes his love for her. The two brokers, who have been lifelong enemies, shake hands. An ex-minister converts a crooked politician who had destroyed his home. Stratton's bartender confesses to him that he has been stealing money from the cash register. Stratton confesses that perhaps he hasn't been paying his bartender as much as he should have. As everyone begins to realize that their oxygen is running out, they decide to open the flood gates, preferring a quick death to a drawn-out one. When the gates are open, everyone is surprised to find that the sun is shining and they are free from danger. The majority of those that were trapped quickly return to their original traits and old enmities are renewed once again. Billy, however, does not go back on his promise of marrying Poppy and the two are happily united. ## Cast - [Douglas Fairbanks Jr.](/source/Douglas_Fairbanks_Jr.) as Billy Bear - [Dorothy Revier](/source/Dorothy_Revier) as Poppy - [Noah Beery](/source/Noah_Beery) as Stratton - [Dorothy Mathews](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dorothy_Mathews&action=edit&redlink=1) as Edna - [Robert Edeson](/source/Robert_Edeson) as Swift - [Anders Randolf](/source/Anders_Randolf) as Frazer - [Ivan F. Simpson](/source/Ivan_F._Simpson) as Higgins - [William Orlamond](/source/William_Orlamond) as Nordling - [Wade Boteler](/source/Wade_Boteler) as Charlie - [William Courtenay](/source/William_Courtenay_(actor)) as Preacher ## Foreign-language version Poster for *Die Maske fällt* One [foreign-language version](/source/Foreign-language_version) of the 1930 version of *The Way of All Men* was produced. The German version was titled *Die Maske fällt* (lit. *The Mask Falls*) and was directed by [William Dieterle](/source/William_Dieterle). It starred [Lissy Arna](/source/Lissy_Arna), [Anton Pointner](/source/Anton_Pointner) and [Karl Etlinger](/source/Karl_Etlinger).[2] ## Preservation status No film elements are known to survive.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] Only stills and advertising material like lantern slides, lobby posters and window cards survive as visual elements. The soundtrack, which was recorded on [Vitaphone](/source/Vitaphone) disks, may survive in private hands. ## See also - [List of lost films](/source/List_of_lost_films) - [List of early Warner Bros. sound and talking features](/source/List_of_early_Warner_Bros._sound_and_talking_features) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [The AFI Catalog of Feature Films 1893-1993:*The Way of All Men*](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/13099).. Retrieved April 9, 2018 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Waldman p. 88 ## Bibliography - Waldman, Harry. *Missing Reels: Lost Films of American and European Cinema*. McFarland, 2000. ## External links - [*The Way of All Men*](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021535/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier)) - [*The Way of All Men*](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021129/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier)) v t e The films of Frank Lloyd 1910s The Gentleman from Indiana (1915) Jane (1915) The Reform Candidate (1915) The Tongues of Men (1916) The Call of the Cumberlands (1916) Madame la Presidente (1916) The Code of Marcia Gray (1916) David Garrick (1916) The Making of Maddalena (1916) An International Marriage (1916) The Stronger Love (1916) The Intrigue (1916) Sins of Her Parent (1916) The World and the Woman (1916) The Kingdom of Love (1917) The Price of Silence (1917) A Tale of Two Cities (1917) American Methods (1917) When a Man Sees Red (1917) Les Misérables (1917) The Heart of a Lion (1917) The Blindness of Divorce (1918) True Blue (1918) Riders of the Purple Sage (1918) The Rainbow Trail (1918) For Freedom (1918) The Man Hunter (1919) Pitfalls of a Big City (1919) The World and Its Woman (1919) The Loves of Letty (1919) 1920s The Woman in Room 13 (1920) The Silver Horde (1920) Madame X (1920) The Great Lover (1920) A Tale of Two Worlds (1921) Roads of Destiny (1921) A Voice in the Dark (1921) The Invisible Power (1921) The Grim Comedian (1921) The Man from Lost River (1921) The Eternal Flame (1922) The Sin Flood (1922) Oliver Twist (1922) The Voice from the Minaret (1923) Within the Law (1923) Ashes of Vengeance (1923) Black Oxen (1923) The Sea Hawk (1924) The Silent Watcher (1924) Her Husband's Secret (1925) Winds of Chance (1925) The Splendid Road (1925) The Wise Guy (1926) The Eagle of the Sea (1926) Children of Divorce (1927) Adoration (1928) Weary River (1929) The Divine Lady (1929) Drag (1929) Dark Streets (1929) Young Nowheres (1929) 1930s Son of the Gods (1930) The Way of All Men (1930) The Lash (1930) The Right of Way (1931) East Lynne (1931) The Age for Love (1931) A Passport to Hell (1932) Cavalcade (1933) Berkeley Square (1933) Hoop-La (1933) Servants' Entrance (1934) Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) Under Two Flags (1936) Maid of Salem (1937) Wells Fargo (1937) If I Were King (1938) Rulers of the Sea (1939) 1940s The Howards of Virginia (1940) This Woman Is Mine (1941) The Lady from Cheyenne (1941) Forever and a Day (1943) Blood on the Sun (1945) 1950s The Shanghai Story (1954) The Last Command (1955) Productions Saboteur (1942) The Spoilers (1942) Invisible Agent (1942) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [The Way of All Men](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_of_All_Men) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_of_All_Men?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.