COMIN THRO THE RYE -1923
Starring: Alma Taylor as Helen Adair, Shayle Gardner as Paul Vasher, Eileen Dennes as Sylvia Fleming, Ralph Forbes as George Tempest, James Carew as Col. Adair, Francis Lister as Dick Fellowes, Gwynne Herbert as Mrs. Adair, Henry Vibart as Mr. Tempest, Christine Rayner as Jane Peach, Nancy Price as Mrs. Titmouse, John MacAndrews as Simpkins and Margot Armstrong as Alice Adair.
Produced and directed by Cecil M. Hepworth. Written by Helen Mathers (novel) and Blanche McIntosh. Cinematography by Geoffrey Faithfull.
Synopsis: The story of a young girl who is prevented from marrying the man she loves by the machinations of a designing woman. The plot centres on the heroine, Helen Adair, who is courted by George Tempest but who meets and falls in love with Paul Vasher. Vasher’s former love Sylvia Fleming who has betrayed him, is jealous of his affections for Helen and manages by intercepting mail between the lovers to plot to win him back.
While Vasher is abroad she places a false announcement of the marriage of Helen and George in the Times and in his despair at this news he agrees to marry her. Sylvia is trapped in a loveless marriage, Helen retains her virtue, Vasher never forgets his love for Helen and in a final letter from the battlefield writes to his true love telling her he will meet her ‘Comin’ through the rye’.
This is the film that unfortunately made Cecil Hepworth bankrupt as it became over budget and was under financed. The film was also delayed when the leading man Shayle Gardner contracted typhoid fever. Production stopped for a few months, but Hepworth eventually released the film with Gardner’s role slightly reduced.
All were photographed by Stanley Faithfull who was head of the stills department at Hepworth Picture Play, along his his brother Geoffrey Faithfull (Chief Cameraman) and Tom White who produced the negatives. Stanley began working with Cecil Hepworth in 1906 as a technician then later moving on processing the film printing.
The only additional information we have is that the film was distributed by Hepworth and was released in cinemas across the UK in November 1923. The duration was 115.0 minutes long and was longer than most films produced by Hepworth, this being 2,559 meters on 8 reels of film.
Research from IMDB includes a great review: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0231379/
Additional still images can be viewed at BFI: http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b6bcad271
A slideshow of images which include the Famous Prelude Originally Designed for “Comin Thro The Rye” can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/_CEDOC-ZTNc
A large selection of silent movie stills by Cecil Hepworth can be purchased as large poster prints from the Vintage Negatives web site: https://www.vintagenegatives.com/subjects/theatrical/silent-film-era/
Some of the still images from ‘Comin Thro The Rye’ are shown below.
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