The Great Moment
Gloria Swanson's first Paramount starring vehicle survives only in a fragment, leaving most of its globe-crossing melodrama outside the screen.
Quick facts
- Existence state
- Officially Gone
- Peak stage
- general availability
- Research confidence
- high
- Last verified
What it was
A formally released seven-reel silent melodrama directed by Sam Wood and written from an Elinor Glyn story.
A young woman raised under the shadow of her mother's past resists an arranged marriage and pursues her own romantic life.
Existence timeline
Elinor Glyn develops Swanson's first Paramount vehicle.
Sam Wood films in California and at Paramount.
The seven-reel melodrama enters post-production.
Paramount distributes The Great Moment.
Only fragmentary footage remains known.
The surviving piece records a small part of the lost feature.
Why it ended
The complete Paramount release was lost; only fragmentary footage is known at the BFI National Archive.
Last confirmed trace
The BFI fragment, publicity stills, contemporary reviews and AFI production history preserve parts of the film.
What it left behind
The missing feature marked the first of Swanson and Glyn's collaborations and a key step in Swanson's star image.
How we classified it
The archive unit reached normal public release or operation and is no longer obtainable in its original public form.
Verified normal public availability maps to 100 under Arrival Score V1.
Sources & verification
Last reviewed 2026-08-01. Sources are linked so readers can inspect the evidence directly.