A Midnight Bell

Last updated

A Midnight Bell
A Midnight Bell (1921) - 2.jpg
Film still originally published in the Exhibitors Herald in July 1921.
Directed by Charles Ray
Written byRichard Andres (adaptation)
Based onA Midnight Bell
by Charles Hale Hoyt (play)
Produced byCharles Ray
StarringCharles Ray
Doris Pawn
Donald MacDonald
Van Dyke Brooke
CinematographyGeorge Rizard
Edited by Harry L. Decker
Distributed by Associated First National Pictures
Release date
  • August 1921 (1921-08)
Running time
6,140 ft. / 6 reels/ 66 minutes
CountryUnited States
Language Silent (English intertitles)

A Midnight Bell is a 1921 American silent comedy film. The film was directed and produced by its star, Charles Ray. His brother, Albert, is thought to have co-directed some scenes. The film is believed to be lost. [1]

Contents

The film is based on a play by the same name written by Charles Hale Hoyt that premiered on Broadway in 1889 with Maude Adams in a leading role and starred Eugene Canfield as Martin Tripp. [2] [1]

Director Charles Ray went on to lose his entire fortune in 1923 when he produced The Courtship of Miles Standish, which was a terrible flop at the box office. He later died in 1943 from a severe tooth infection. [3]

Plot

Martin Tripp is a traveling salesman who turns a struggling small-town store into a successful business. He becomes involved in a mystery involving an old church that is supposed to be haunted. Tripp is challenged to spend a night in the old building. A group of criminals, pretending to manifest supernatural phenomena, are exposed by Tripp in the end. [1] [4]

Cast

Related Research Articles

This is an overview of 1929 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.

This is an overview of 1923 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.

This is an overview of 1921 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.

The year 1920 in film involved some significant events.

The year 1916 in film involved some significant events.

The year 1914 in film involved some significant events, including the debut of Cecil B. DeMille as a director.

1913 was a particularly fruitful year for film as an art form, and is often cited one of the years in the decade which contributed to the medium the most, along with 1917. The year was one where filmmakers of several countries made great artistic advancements, producing notable pioneering masterpieces such as The Student of Prague, Suspense, Atlantis, Raja Harischandra, Juve contre Fantomas, Quo Vadis?, Ingeborg Holm, The Mothering Heart, Ma l’amor mio non muore!, L’enfant de Paris and Twilight of a Woman's Soul.

The year 1912 in film involved some significant events.

The year 1910 in film involved some significant events.

<i>The Gorilla</i> (1927 film) 1927 film by Alfred Santell

The Gorilla is an American 1927 silent mystery film directed by Alfred Santell based on the play The Gorilla by Ralph Spence. It stars Charles Murray, Fred Kelsey, and Walter Pidgeon.

<i>The Hole in the Wall</i> (1929 film) 1929 film

The Hole in the Wall is a 1929 pre-Code mystery drama film directed by Robert Florey, and starring Claudette Colbert and Edward G. Robinson. This early talking picture was the first appearance of Edward G. Robinson in the role of a gangster, and "can be viewed as a dry run for his eventual success ". It was also one of Colbert's first film appearances.

<i>The Threat</i> (1949 film) 1949 film by Felix E. Feist

The Threat is a 1949 American film noir starring Michael O'Shea, Virginia Grey and Charles McGraw, and directed by Felix E. Feist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Young (director)</span> American film director

James Young was an American film director, actor, and screenwriter of the silent era. Before films Young had a successful career as a stage actor appearing on Broadway and throughout the country, and was the author of a notable 1905 book on theatrical makeup. Young directed more than 90 films between 1912 and 1928. He also appeared as an actor in 60 films between 1909 and 1917.

<i>Broadway Serenade</i> 1939 film by Robert Zigler Leonard

Broadway Serenade is a 1939 musical drama film distributed by MGM, produced and directed by Robert Z. Leonard. The screenplay was written by Charles Lederer, based on a story by Lew Lipton, John Taintor Foote and Hanns Kräly. The music score is by Herbert Stothart and Edward Ward.

A Midnight Bell is a play written by Charles H. Hoyt. It was featured on Broadway in 1889 and starred Maude Adams. The play was adapted into an American silent film in 1921.

None but the Brave (1928) is an American silent film, released by Fox Film Corporation, directed by Albert Ray, and starring Charles Morton as Charles Stanton, Sally Phipps as Mary. The film also co-starred J. Farrell MacDonald, Sharon Lynn, and Tom Kennedy. One or two sequences were filmed in a two-strip Technicolor, made of black-and-white 35mm film dyed in colors. The film consists of six reels.

<i>Across the Pacific</i> (1926 film) 1926 film

Across the Pacific is a 1926 American silent romantic adventure film produced by Warner Bros., directed by Roy del Ruth and starring Monte Blue. It was based on a 1900 play by Charles Blaney and J. J. McCloskey. The play had been filmed before in 1914 with Dorothy Dalton. It is unknown, but the film might have been released with a Vitaphone soundtrack.

Norman Thaddeus Vane born Norman Thatteus Vein was a screenwriter, producer, playwright and film director. He served as writer for the 1968 film Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter, and in the subsequent year was writer and associate producer of the movie Lola. He wrote the screenplay for the 1972 film, 1931: Once Upon a Time in New York. Vane went on to direct the 1983 film, Frightmare, and continue contributing to writing films including The Black Room in 1984.

<i>The Drums of Jeopardy</i> (1931 film) 1931 film

The Drums of Jeopardy is a 1931 American pre-Code horror film directed by George B. Seitz and starring Warner Oland, June Collyer and Lloyd Hughes. It is the second film adaptation of Harold McGrath's novel of the same name, and stars Oland as Dr. Boris Karlov.

<i>The Phantom Melody</i> 1920 film by Douglas Gerrard

The Phantom Melody is a 1920 American silent drama film directed by Douglas Gerrard, and starring Monroe Salisbury, Henry A. Barrows, Ray Gallagher, Charles West and Jean Calhoun. The film was released by Universal Film Manufacturing Company on January 27, 1920. The film's "premature burial" plotline tilts it in the direction of being a horror film as well as a melodrama. Director Gerrard emigrated to Hollywood from Ireland in 1913 to become an actor, but quickly gravitated to film directing in 1916 with his The Price of Victory, but gave up directing soon after filming The Phantom Melody.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Soister, John T. American Silent Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Feature Films, 1913-1929. McFarland. p. 389. Web. Accessed June 24, 2015
  2. Internet Broadway Database
  3. Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 241. ISBN   978-1936168-68-2.
  4. A Midnight Bell at TCM.com