Tol'able David (1930)
Drama • 1h 5m
Overview
Tol'able David is a 1930 sound film directed by John G. Blystone and produced and released by Columbia Pictures. It is a remake of a famous 1921 silent film Tol'able David starring Richard Barthelmess and Ernest Torrence. Young David Kinemon is a good-natured, easy-going lad in a mountain village. Circumstances force him to take his brother's place as mailman for the community, and this brings him into deadly contact with the vicious Hatburn brothers.
Director: John G. Blystone
Director: Alfred E. Green
Director: Alfred E. Green
Directors: Louis J. Gasnier & Max Marcin
Directors: Louis J. Gasnier & Max Marcin
Director: Frank Tuttle
Director: Frank Tuttle
Director: Clarence Brown
Warner Archive Blu-ray 4K restoration from Original Camera Negative
Director: Clarence Brown
Warner Archive Blu-ray 4K restoration from Original Camera Negative
Director: John Ford
Warner Archive Blu-ray new restoration by Library of Congress and the Film Foundation
Director: John Ford
Warner Archive Blu-ray new restoration by Library of Congress and the Film Foundation
Warner Archive Blu-ray 4K restoration from Original Camera Negative
Warner Archive Blu-ray 4K restoration from Original Camera Negative
Directors: John G. Blystone & Buster Keaton
2019 Kino Lorber Blu-ray
2019 Kino Lorber > MoC/Cohen > 2011 Kino Lorber
Directors: John G. Blystone & Buster Keaton
2019 Kino Lorber Blu-ray
2019 Kino Lorber > MoC/Cohen > 2011 Kino Lorber
Director: Tay Garnett
Unofficial Streaming
The print seems to be preserved at Library of Congress
Director: Tay Garnett
Unofficial Streaming
The print seems to be preserved at Library of Congress
Unofficial Streaming
Complete copies survive in Library of Congress
Unofficial Streaming
Complete copies survive in Library of Congress
Director: John G. Adolfi
Only the trailer survives and is held at Library of Congress
Director: John G. Adolfi
Only the trailer survives and is held at Library of Congress
Director: Phil Rosen
According to Library of Congress https://web.archive.org/web/20231009210800/http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.mbrs.sfdb.2710/default.html, a complete print survives in Lobster Films but no restoration or release yet
Director: Phil Rosen
According to Library of Congress https://web.archive.org/web/20231009210800/http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.mbrs.sfdb.2710/default.html, a complete print survives in Lobster Films but no restoration or release yet
Director: William A. Seiter
Unofficial sources ripped from TCM
Library of Congress has completed a digital restoration around 2018 but no release yet
Director: William A. Seiter
Unofficial sources ripped from TCM
Library of Congress has completed a digital restoration around 2018 but no release yet
Director: Alan Crosland
Unofficial Streaming online
Library of Congress said in 2019 that it's restoring it after it came to public domain and the source material, a nitrate print in the AFI/Marion Davies Collection, is missing reels 3 and 9 of 11, plus suffers from some deterioration in reels 4, 5, and 8. No update since.
Director: Alan Crosland
Unofficial Streaming online
Library of Congress said in 2019 that it's restoring it after it came to public domain and the source material, a nitrate print in the AFI/Marion Davies Collection, is missing reels 3 and 9 of 11, plus suffers from some deterioration in reels 4, 5, and 8. No update since.
Director: Lois Weber
OOP 2018 Kino Lorber Blu-ray, or HD Streaming available
OOP 2018 Kino Lorber Blu-ray, or HD Streaming available
The 2018 Kino Lorber Blu-ray and DVD releases as part of the "Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers" set are a newer restoration than the 2008 Kino Lorber DVD, additional info on Silent Era website, but it is worth noting the order of the movie sequences are not the same between the new and old releases. A couple comparisons uploaded to slowpics. The Library of Congress has a safety duplicate negative of this film, and it is also available for viewing on Wikipedia.
Director: Lois Weber
OOP 2018 Kino Lorber Blu-ray, or HD Streaming available
OOP 2018 Kino Lorber Blu-ray, or HD Streaming available
The 2018 Kino Lorber Blu-ray and DVD releases as part of the "Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers" set are a newer restoration than the 2008 Kino Lorber DVD, additional info on Silent Era website, but it is worth noting the order of the movie sequences are not the same between the new and old releases. A couple comparisons uploaded to slowpics. The Library of Congress has a safety duplicate negative of this film, and it is also available for viewing on Wikipedia.
Director: Dudley Murphy
Cohen Syncopation Blu-ray 1080p extras
Also available in HD Streaming by Library of Congress https://www.loc.gov/item/2023602002/
Director: Dudley Murphy
Cohen Syncopation Blu-ray 1080p extras
Also available in HD Streaming by Library of Congress https://www.loc.gov/item/2023602002/
Director: Frank Borzage
Only has really bad public domain copies
New restoration done by Library of Congress with DCP has no release yet
Director: Frank Borzage
Only has really bad public domain copies
New restoration done by Library of Congress with DCP has no release yet
Director: Richard E. Norman
BFI Pioneers of African American Cinema boxset Blu-ray is likely better than Kino Lorber boxset
Library of Congress also have an official HD Streaming https://www.loc.gov/item/2021604060/
Director: Richard E. Norman
BFI Pioneers of African American Cinema boxset Blu-ray is likely better than Kino Lorber boxset
Library of Congress also have an official HD Streaming https://www.loc.gov/item/2021604060/
Edit History
11/13/2025
