The Regeneration

Released Sep 13, 1915

1h 22m

Drama

List

100%

5 Reviews

Tomatometer

69%

250+ Ratings

Audience Score

Orphaned at an early age after the death of his mother, Owen Conway (Johnny McCann) takes to New York City's streets and turns to crime after being exploited and abused by his new guardians. As an adult gang leader, Owen (Rockliffe Fellowes) saves socialite Marie Deering (Anna Q. Nilsson) and district attorney Ames (Carl Harbaugh) from being attacked by drunk criminals in a seedy bar. Sensing Owen's fundamental decency, Marie tries to persuade him to leave his criminal life behind.

Read More

Read Less

Audience Member

A true period gangster film (perhaps the first) shot on location, in NY, in the mid teens, with a non cliche ending.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

the first feature length crime movie.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A sharp & snappy film made by Roaul Walsh in 1915 that is incredibly innovative and modern. A highly moral story but a story told well none the less. A young child growing up in a tough home turned gangster then slowly changed by the woman in the street mission. Although the story is familiar it was told well with excellent direction & strength of performances.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I'm told this is one of the first Gangster movies to have been made - it's also 20th Century Fox' first film - and its themes are as visceral and deafening as any modern take on its plot, despite it being silent.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Not 1 of the best silent films Ive seen but it was alright

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It was good, but kinda boring in all honesty. It took too long to get moving. The second half mostly made up for a lackluster first, however.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Raoul Walsh

Director

Rockliffe Fellowes

Owen - Age Twenty-Five

Anna Q. Nilsson

Marie Deering

William Sheer

Skinny

Carl Harbaugh

District Attorney Ames

James A. Marcus

Jim Conway

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

95%

71%

Broken Blossoms

100%

46%

The Blot

100%

57%

Outside the Law

98%

76%

Intolerance

TRAILER

for Intolerance

88%

72%

Orphans of the Storm

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Richard Brody

New Yorker

Revelling in the cinema's power to set a vast scene in a single glance, Walsh gives the spare, schematic story a novelistic amplitude.

Nov 5, 2013

Full Review

Time Out

[Regeneration is] distinguished by a remarkable approach to physical casting, a robust treatment of violent action, and a sheer narrative pace to shame contemporary ponderousness.

Nov 5, 2013

Full Review

TV Guide

An astonishingly impressive and durable movie for its years.

Rated: 4/4

Nov 5, 2013

Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

It's an extraordinary film.

Rated: 4/4

Nov 5, 2013

Full Review

Michael E. Grost

Classic Film and Television

Pioneering crime drama, brilliantly made, with rich acting, stunning photography of NY slums, creative visual style.

Aug 15, 2005

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

Orphaned at an early age after the death of his mother, Owen Conway (Johnny McCann) takes to New York City's streets and turns to crime after being exploited and abused by his new guardians. As an adult gang leader, Owen (Rockliffe Fellowes) saves socialite Marie Deering (Anna Q. Nilsson) and district attorney Ames (Carl Harbaugh) from being attacked by drunk criminals in a seedy bar. Sensing Owen's fundamental decency, Marie tries to persuade him to leave his criminal life behind.

Director: Raoul Walsh
Screenwriter: Raoul Walsh, Carl Harbaugh
Distributor: Fox Film Corporation
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 13, 1915, Original
Release Date (DVD): Dec 4, 2001
Runtime: 1h 22m