Drums of Love

Drums of Love is a 1928 American silent romance film directed by D. W. Griffith starring Mary Philbin, Lionel Barrymore, and Don Alvarado. Two endings, one happy and the other sad, were shot.

Plot

After finding out her father and his estate are in danger, Princess Emanuella saves his life by marrying Duke Cathos de Alvia, a grotesque hunchback. She actually is in love with Leonardo, his attractive younger brother. They already had an affair before the marriage, but continued to meet each other in secret. In the end, Cathos finds out about his wife's unfaithfulness and stabs both his wife and brother to death.

Production

The film was a modernized adaptation of a Francesca da Rimini opera. The settings were changed from 14th century Italy to 19th century South America. The film was directed by D. W. Griffith, whose career was in decline. He imposed a happy ending, but this idea was rejected.
The female lead went to Mary Philbin, who was on loan from another studio, Universal Pictures. Cinematographer Karl Struss was especially impressed with the actress and tested her for two weeks with different wigs. Philbin later called working with Griffith a "dream come true."

Reception

The film was received as one of D. W. Griffith's weakest. Critics agreed that Griffith did not know how to handle the film's theme and story the way Tod Browning could have. Both the critics and the audience agreed that the poor reception was mainly due to the ending.

Preservation

Prints of Drums of Love are in the collections of the Library of Congress and George Eastman Museum.