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Through the Dark
Through the Dark
	Still with Colleen Moore and Forrest Stanley
Directed by	George W. Hill
Written by	Frances Marion (scenario)
Based on	"The Daughter of Mother McGinn"; by Jack Boyle
Starring	Forrest Stanley; Colleen Moore
Cinematography	L. William O'Connell; Allen Siegler
Production; company	Cosmopolitan Productions
Distributed by	Goldwyn Pictures
Release date	January 6, 1924;
Running time	80 mins.
Country	United States
Language	Silent (English intertitles)

Through the Dark is a 1924 American silent mystery crime drama film directed by George W. Hill, and starring Colleen Moore and Forrest Stanley as the popular jewel thief and sometimes detective character Boston Blackie. The film's scenario, written by Frances Marion, is based on the short story "The Daughter of Mother McGinn" by Jack Boyle, which appeared in serial form in Cosmopolitan.^[1] The film was produced by William Randolph Hearst's Cosmopolitan Productions and distributed through Goldwyn Pictures.^[1]

Plot

As described in a film magazine review,^[2] during a rebellion of prisoners at the San Quentin State Prison, Boston Blackie makes a lightning escape aided by Mary McGinn while chased prison guards. Mary is a school girl, unaware that her brothers are crooks. She is expelled from school. Blackie rejoins his gang and takes refuge in Mother McGinn's house, where he again meets Mary. She devotes herself to making Blackie go straight and wins her point.

Cast

Colleen Moore as Mary McGinn
Forrest Stanley as Boston Blackie
Margaret Seddon as Mother McGinn
Hobart Bosworth as Warden
George Cooper as Travel
Eddie Phillips as The 'Glad Rag' Kid (credited as Edward Phillips)
Wade Boteler as Detective O'Leary
Tom Bates as Sandy
Carmelita Geraghty as Ethel Grayson
Maxine Elliott Hicks

Censorship

The film was banned by the British Board of Film Censors upon its release for its depiction of unspecified "taboo" subject matter.^[3]

Preservation

An incomplete print of Through the Dark is preserved at the Library of Congress.^[4]^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b Beauchamp, Cari (1998). Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Powerful Women of Early Hollywood. University of California Press. p. 447. ISBN 0-520-92138-0.
^ Pardy, George T. (January 12, 1924). "Box Office Reviews: Through the Dark". Exhibitors Trade Review. 15 (8). New York: Exhibitors Review Publishing Corporation: 22. Retrieved June 29, 2022. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^ Green, Jonathon; Karolides, Nicholas J. (2009). Encyclopedia of Censorship. Infobase Publishing. pp. 76–77. ISBN 978-1-438-11001-1.
^ Progressive Silent Film List: Through the Dark at silentera.com
^ Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: Through the Dark