web - Seed 1
Seed (1931)

The Melbourne Cinémathèque & ACMI present

Seed

John M. Stahl | USA | 1931 | Unclassified (15+)
Film

When

Wed 17 Dec 2025

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Based on a social-realist novel by Charles G. Morris (Seed: A Novel of Birth Control), Stahl’s bracingly restrained second talkie is a “masterly orchestration of sympathies” (David Bordwell) in which a frustrated but entitled writer (John Boles) abandons his art to support his large family. An old flame (Genevieve Tobin) returns to work for his publishing firm, recognises his suppressed talent and rekindles their affair.

This landmark work initiates the series of extraordinary romantic social dramas that constitute Stahl’s greatest cinematic contribution, demonstrating his understanding of the fate of women in male-dominated society. With ZaSu Pitts and Bette Davis.

35mm print courtesy of the UCLA Film & Television Archive.

Format: 35mm
Language: English
Source: UCLA Film & Television Archive
Runtime: 96 mins

Event duration

96 mins

Rating

Unclassified (15+)

Where

Cinema 1, Level 2
ACMI, Fed Square

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$30.5–36

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$174–325

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More films screening in this program

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About Melbourne Cinémathèque

Australia's longest-running film society, Melbourne Cinémathèque screens significant works of international cinema in the medium they were created, the way they would have originally screened.

Melbourne Cinémathèque is self-administered, volunteer-run, not-for-profit and membership-driven. 

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