The Private Life of Helen of Troy

The Private Life of Helen of Troy is a 1927 American silent comedy adventure film about Helen of Troy based on the 1925 novel of the same name by John Erskine, and adapted to screen by Gerald Duffy. The film was directed by Alexander Korda and starred María Corda as Helen, Lewis Stone as Menelaus, and Ricardo Cortez as Paris.^[1]

The Private Life of Helen of Troy
Directed by	Alexander Korda
Written by	Gerald C. Duffy (intertitles) Ralph Spence (intertitles) Casey Robinson (intertitles)
Based on	The Private Life of Helen of Troy by John Erskine
Produced by	Richard A. Rowland
Starring	María Corda Lewis Stone Ricardo Cortez
Cinematography	Lee Garmes Sidney Hickox
Edited by	Harold Young
Music by	Carl Edouarde Cecil Copping (NYC premiere, uncredited)
Distributed by	First National Pictures
Release dates	December 9, 1927 (1927-12-09) (NYC) January 8, 1928 (1928-01-08) (Nationwide)
Running time	87 minutes
Country	United States
Language	Silent (English intertitles)

Cast

• María Corda as Helen
• Lewis Stone as Menelaus
• Ricardo Cortez as Paris
• George Fawcett as Eteoneus
• Alice White as Adraste
• Bill Elliott as Telemachus
• Tom O'Brien as Ulysses
• Bert Sprotte as Achilles
• Mario Carillo as Ajax
• Charles Puffy as Malapokitoratoreadetos
• George Kotsonaros as Hector
• Emilio Gorgato as Sarpedon
• Constantine Romanoff as Aeneas
• Alice Adair as Aphrodite
• Helen Fairweather as Athena
• Virginia Thomas as Hera
• Agostino Borgato (uncredited)
• Sonia Karlov (uncredited)
• Inez Marion (uncredited)
• Jack Stambaugh as Extra (uncredited)
• John Westwood as Extra (uncredited)
• Clifford Ingram as Chariot Driver (uncredited)
• Gusztáv Pártos as Nobleman (uncredited)

Reception

Released at the end of the silent film era, The Private Life of Helen of Troy was nominated for an Academy Award in 1929, the year of the Awards' inception, in the category of Best Title Writing. Duffy died on June 25, 1928, and was the first person to be posthumously nominated for an Academy Award.^[2]

That same year, the first "talkie", The Jazz Singer, received an honorary award for introducing sound to film, and the category for which The Private Life of Helen of Troy was nominated was dropped by the second Academy Awards.^{[citation needed]}

Preservation

Two sections from the beginning and end, running about 27–30 minutes in total, are reportedly all that survive of The Private Life of Helen of Troy; they are preserved by the British Film Institute.^[1][3]

See also

• List of incomplete or partially lost films