Lights of Old Broadway is a 1925 Americansilentdrama film directed byMonta Bell, produced byWilliam Randolph Hearst'sCosmopolitan Productions, and released byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film starsMarion Davies in adual role andConrad Nagel, and is an adaptation of the playThe Merry Wives of Gotham by Laurence Eyre (USA). The film has color sequences usingtinting,Technicolor, and theHandschiegl color process.^[1][2]

Lights of Old Broadway
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Monta Bell
Written by	Carey Wilson (adaptation & scenario) Joseph Farnham (intertitles)
Based on	The Merry Wives of Gotham by Laurence Eyre
Produced by	Cosmopolitan Productions
Starring	Marion Davies Conrad Nagel
Cinematography	Ira H. Morgan
Edited by	Blanche Sewell
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date	November 1925 (1925-11)
Running time	70 minutes
Country	United States
Language	Silent (Englishintertitles)

The play was produced on Broadway atHenry Miller's Theatre from January 16, 1924 to April 1924. Davies' role was played on the stage by actressMary Ellis.^[3]

As described in a film magazine review,^[4] two young women, twins, whose mother dies while the family is en route from Ireland to the United States, are separated in New York City, Anne being adopted by a wealthy family and the other, Fely, by a poor family. Dirk, Anne's adopted brother, meets the poor sister, and love draws them together. The youth’s family objects to his romance, but are reconciled when the poor sister saves Dirk’s father from death, and the two are then wed. A subplot involves the coming of electricity to New York City.

In her 21st film,Marion Davies starred as twins separated at birth. The dark-haired girl is brought up in a wealthy home, while the blonde is brought up in the tenement slums and becomes a musical-comedy star. This MGM production saw Davies in the first of three teamings withConrad Nagel and was also the first Davies production in whichLouis B. Mayer andIrving Thalberg became involved. This was the first Davies film to use 2-strip Technicolor (which survives). The finale also includes the same hand-coloring technique (Handschiegl) that had been used inWhen Knighthood Was in Flower. The film was a big hit and resulted in a long-term contract with MGM.^[5]

Prints ofLights of Old Broadway are preserved at theLibrary of Congress andUCLA Film and Television Archive.^[6]

• List of early color feature films

• Lights of Old Broadway at theAFI Catalog of Feature Films
• Lights of Old Broadway atIMDb