When a Man Loves is a 1927 American synchronized sound historical drama film directed by Alan Crosland and produced and distributed by Warner Bros. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the Vitaphone sound-on-disc process. The picture stars John Barrymore and features Dolores Costello in the frequently filmed story of Abbe Prevost's 1731 novel Manon Lescaut. The lovers suffer, but the film has an optimistic ending, as they head to America. Manon dies at the end of the novel. The UK release title was His Lady.
theatrical release poster
Frederick Alan Crosland was an American stage actor and film director. He is noted for having directed the first feature film using spoken dialogue, The Jazz Singer (1927).
Crosland in 1921
Alan Crosland (standing) telling stories to Myron Selznick and Elaine Hammerstein, 1919