Children of Divorce (1927): Silent Classic, Starring Clara Bow and Gary Cooper, Restored

The film begins in an American “divorce colony” in Paris after the First World War, where parents would leave their children for months at a time.  Jean, Kitty, and Ted meet there as children and become fast friends.

Years later, in America, when the wealthy Ted (Gary Cooper) reconnects with Jean (Esther Ralston), the two fall deeply in love, vowing to fulfill a childhood promise to marry each other. But true love and innocent plans are no match for the scheming

Kitty, played by the original Hollywood “It” girl, Clara Bow, who targets Ted for his fortune.

After a night of drunken revelry, Ted wakes to learn he has unwittingly married Kitty. This unfortunate turn of events, however, brings back the traumatized pasts of the three players, whose views of marriage have been shaped as children of divorce.

Restoration

Sourced from the original nitrate negative held by the Library of Congress, as well as their 1969 fine grain master, this restoration of Children of Divorce was scanned in 4K resolution, and represents over 200 hours of laboratory work by the Library of Congress in order to create the best version possible.

This MOD edition features a score by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, and was made possible thanks to the Blackhawk Films Collection, Paramount Pictures, and the Library of Congress.