The Scarlet Letter is a 1934 American film directed by Robert G. Vignola and based on the 1850 novel of the same name by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

The first sound version of the story, starring former Jazz Age comedian Colleen Moore as the ill-fated Puritan adulteress, Hester Prynne, the film retained many of the silent film era players and studio sets from director Victor Seastrom’s 1926 silent adaptation starring Lillian Gish.

[1] Under the influence of the recently re-imposed Production Code, director Vignola emphasized the guilt-ridden ordeal of the novel’s protagonists, which resonated with Hollywood censor’s preference for a depiction of "the moral failure of the central figures" as a cautionary tale, to distinguish it from the Seastrom’s decidedly romantic film adaption.

[2] It was shot in Sherman Oaks, California, and was the only film Colleen Moore ever said she made for the money.

[clarification needed][citation needed] National Board of Review gave a negative review, criticizing the script and "Vignola's static, uninspired direction", but appreciated Moore's performance, considering it "the only good thing in the picture".