The Trespasser

(Edmund Goulding, US 1929, 90 min., 35mm)

Class difference and moral issues intertwine in this stark social drama starring Gloria Swanson. A stenographer who falls in love with the son of an aristocratic and wealthy family, Swanson finds herself alone and pregnant when the elopement is annulled by her father-in-law (perfectly portrayed by character actor William Holden). In order to survive, Swanson finds herself with a new protector . . . and at the center of scandal. Shot in only 21 days, this film marked Swanson’s sound debut, and she not only bowled over the critics with her acting, but also surprised everyone with the strength of her impressive singing abilities.

To bring The Trespasser back to the screen, Ed Stratmann worked from unique material repatriated from New Zealand, including a nitrate print and the original separate nitrate image and track negatives. Combining the two negatives for printing the image as well as a re-recorded soundtrack, this preservation was completed in 2002 with funding from the Film Foundation and the American Film Institute.