The Way of All Flesh
US (1927): Drama/Silent/Lost
Victor Fleming directs Emil Jannings in an Oscar®-nominated performance as a middle class character who succumbs, just once, to the feminine and must forever after live in hiding while his family believes him dead and enjoys prosperity through one of the sons' violin concerts. Starting in 1910, the story weaves its way up to the present year (1927), giving opportunity to display three characterizations in as many makeups. (Variety, 1927)
In her autobiography, The Shocking Miss Pilgrim: A Writer in Early Hollywood, Frederica Sagor claims that the original screenplay for this film was written by her husband, Ernest Maas. The story - of a man who abandons his family - was loosely based on Ernest's own father, who had an affair with his sister-in-law and destroyed two families in the process. As a fellow German-American, and working in the nascent film industry, Maas knew Emil Jannings personally and gave him a copy of the original screenplay. Later, he learned that Jannings had taken it to another director (and studio) and they'd stolen it; this was common in the early film industry. (IMDb)
Since no positive or negative film elements are known to exist, this film is among the "lost."
1 nomination, 1 Award
· Best Actor 1927-28: Emil Jannings (co-nomination with The Last Command)