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''Noah's Ark'' is a 1928 American early romantic melodramatic disaster film directed by Michael Curtiz. The story was by Darryl F. Zanuck. The film starred Dolores Costello and George O'Brien, and released by the Warner Bros. studio. The film was representative of the transition from silent movies to "talkies", although it was essentially a hybrid film known as a part-talkie, utilizing the new (at that time) Vitaphone sound-on-disc system.〔(''Noah's Ark'' at the silentera.com database )〕 Most scenes are silent with a synchronized music score and sound effects, in particular the biblical ones, while some scenes have dialogue.〔(The AFI Catalog of Feature Films: ''Noah's Ark'' )〕 ==Plot== The film opens after the great flood, with Noah and his family outside of the Ark praising the Lord. Then comes depictions of the building of the Tower of Babel and the worshipping of the golden calf. Then it switches to the eve of World War I. The theme of the gold calf is carried forward by a scene in which a bankrupted trader (Otto Hoffman) shoots his uncaring stockbroker. In 1914, American playboy Travis (George O'Brien) and his New York taxi driver buddy Al (Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams) are traveling aboard the "Oriental Express" train. Travis helps a pious minister (Paul McAllister) reclaim his seat from a rude fellow passenger. A washed-out bridge causes a deadly derailment. Travis and Al rescue Marie (Dolores Costello), a German member of a small theatrical troupe, from underneath the wreckage with the help of a prisoner (Malcolm Waite) who had just unhandcuffed himself from a now-dead escort. At the nearby lodge where they take shelter, fellow survivor Nickoloff (Noah Beery), an officer in the Russian Secret Service, tries to sneak into Marie's room. When Travis objects, a fight breaks out, during which Nickoloff is cut on the hand by a bottle he was wielding. They are interrupted by French soldiers, who announce that war has broken out. Travis, Al and Marie sneak away in the confusion and head to Paris together. Travis and Marie fall in love. When America enters the war, Al enlists as soon as he can. Travis tells him he cannot, as he has married Marie. However, when he later sees Al marching with his unit down the streets of Paris, he impulsively joins up as well. He loses touch with his wife. Travis and Al meet by chance in the trenches. They are each assigned a squad to attack a machine gun nest holding up the American offensive. Tragically, Travis tosses a hand grenade into the position, not knowing that Al had captured it moments before. Al is fatally wounded, but lives long enough to bid his friend adieu. Later, Nickoloff spots Marie in a group of dancers entertaining the troops. He threatens to have her arrested as a German spy unless she meets him later. When she tries to sneak away, he carries through his threat, and she is sentenced to face a firing squad. She is comforted by the minister from the train. Travis, who by chance is part of the squad, recognizes her in the nick of time. Then the couple and others are trapped below a demolished building by a German artillery barrage. The minister compares the war and its flood of blood to the biblical story of Noah's Ark. The film reverts to that time, with the actors playing second roles. King Nephilim (Beery) has converted his subjects into worshippers of the god Jaghuth. Only Noah (McAllister) and his family remain faithful to Jehovah. Following Jehovah's command, Noah and his three sons (O'Brien, Williams and Waite) begin building the Ark on a mountainside. Nephilim orders the sacrifice of the most beautiful virgin in his realm to his god in a month. His soldiers choose Miriam (Costello), a handmaiden of Noah's. When Noah's son Japheth (O'Brien) tries to save her, he is blinded and set to labor turning a stone-mill with other prisoners. Just as Miriam is about to be slain, Jehovah unleashes his wrath, with the great flood destroying and drowning everything in its path. Among the chaos, Japheth, freed from his chains, finds and carries Miriam back to the Ark, where Jehovah restores his sight. Nephilim, who is among his drowning and dying followers, tries to climb aboard, only to have the door slam on his hand, inflicting the same injuries Nickoloff suffered. Returning to World War I, the trapped group is freed. Soon after they emerge, they learn that the Armistice has been signed and the war is over. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Noah's Ark (1928 film)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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