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The Barker is a 1928 part-talkie pre-Code romantic drama film produced and released by First National Pictures, a subsidiary of Warner Bros., acquired in September 1928. The film was directed by George Fitzmaurice and stars Milton Sills, Dorothy Mackaill, Betty Compson, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.

The Barker
theatrical release poster
Directed by	George Fitzmaurice
Written by	Benjamin Glazer Joseph Jackson Herman J. Mankiewicz (titles)
Based on	The Barker by Kenyon Nicholson
Produced by	Al Rockett Richard A. Rowland
Starring	Milton Sills Dorothy Mackaill Betty Compson Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
Cinematography	Lee Garmes
Edited by	Stuart Heisler
Music by	Louis Silvers
Production company	First National Pictures
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date	December 9, 1928
Running time	87 minutes
Country	United States
Languages	English (Intertitles and talking scenes)

The film is based on the Broadway play of the same name which opened at the Biltmore Theatre January 18, 1927 and ran until July 1927 for 221 performances. In the stage production Walter Huston was "Nifty" and a still relatively unknown Claudette Colbert was "Lou", played in the film by Dorothy Mackaill.[1]

The film was adapted by Benjamin Glazer, Joseph Jackson and Herman J. Mankiewicz from the play by Kenyon Nicholson. The Barker is a part-talkie with talking sequences and sequences with synchronized musical scoring and sound effects.[2][3]

Plot

The film tells the story of a woman (Dorothy Mackaill) who comes between a man (Milton Sills) and his estranged son (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.). Sills is a carnival barker who is in love with a dancing girl and is ambitious to have his son, Fairbanks, become a lawyer. Fairbanks has other ideas and during his vacation he hops a freight, joins the carnival, and weds a dancing girl (Mackaill). Eventually, Fairbanks fulfills the ambition his father had for him.

Cast

• Betty Compson as Carrie
• Milton Sills as Nifty Miller
• Dorothy Mackaill as Lou
• Douglas Fairbanks Jr. as Chris Miller
• Sylvia Ashton as Ma Benson
• George Cooper as Hap Spissel
• S. S. Simon as Col. Gowdy
• Tom Dugan as Stuttering Spieker

Uncredited:

• Bobby Dunn as Hamburger concessionaire
• Pat Harmon as Heckler
• Bynunsky Hyman as Fire Eater
• Gladden James as Member of Hawaiian Trio
• Charles Sullivan as Man in audience
• Pat West as Bartender

Awards and honors

Year	Award	Result	Category	Recipient
1928	Academy Award	Nominated	Best Actress in a Leading Role	Betty Compson

Preservation status

The film survives intact with its talking sequences and has been preserved by the UCLA Film and Television Archive and manufactured-on-demand DVD by the Warner Archive Collection.^{[citation needed]}

Remakes

The Barker was remade as Hoop-La (1933) with Clara Bow and as Diamond Horseshoe (1945) with Betty Grable. Japanese director Yasujirō Ozu remade this film (without crediting the original) as A Story of Floating Weeds (1934) and again as Floating Weeds (1959).

See also

• List of early Warner Bros. talking features

References

External links

• The Barker at AllMovie
• The Barker at IMDb

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