The Barker

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 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. 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.