Don Juan (1926)
(Alan Crosland, US 1926 , 96 min., 35mm)
On July 21, 1926, Warner Bros. announced that their upcoming feature Don Juan, starring John Barrymore, would be the first film to utilize their Vitaphone process. This technique required both a 35mm print of the film as well as a set of sound discs to be played alongside, synchronized and amplified into the theater. Less than a month later, the film had its world premiere at the Warners’ Theatre in New York City. Through the magic of film preservation, the George Eastman Museum has remarried the sound and picture on this film so that it can be presented to modern audiences. The film follows the exploits of the famed Spanish noble and lover in Italy during the sixteenth century. When Juan (Barrymore) rebuffs Lucretia Borgia (Estelle Taylor) for Adriana (Mary Astor), the daughter of a duke, Borgia puts a plan in place that will separate the lovers while adding to the Borgias’ fortune, resulting in a rousing, swashbuckling conclusion.