An Even Break | |
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Directed by | Lambert Hillyer |
Written by | Lambert Hillyer (scenario) |
Starring | Olive Thomas Charles Gunn |
Cinematography | John Stuart Stumar |
Distributed by | Triangle Film Corporation |
Release date |
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Running time | 50 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
An Even Break is a 1917 American silent comedy-drama film written and directed by Lambert Hillyer, and starring Olive Thomas and Charles Gunn. A print of the film is preserved at the Library of Congress. [1] Prints and/or fragments were found in the Dawson Film Find in 1978.
As described in a film magazine review, [2] as children Jimmie Strang (Gunn), Mary (Thompson), and Claire Curtis (Thomas) tell each other what they will be when they grow up, and Jimmie succeeds in becoming a noted inventor. He goes to New York City to secure the manufacture of his machine, which has been ordered by the firm operated by Luther Collins (Burke), which hopes to revive its weakened finances with the invention. Arriving in New York, he is taken in hand by the son David (French) from Harding & Co., which contracts to build the machine. But this firm is avaricious and decides to bankrupt Collins and keep the machine as its own asset. Jimmie is initiated into the gay life of the cabaret. He discovers that the renown dancer Claire, loved by all but won by none, is his childhood friend. He obtains what no one else has accomplished and meets with Claire, and their childhood fondness is renewed. Then Mary arrives, and it turns out that Jimmie had in a moment of haste proposed to her back home. Claire decides she will give Mary a fighting chance for Jimmie's love, and takes her in hand and teaches her the city fast life. Mary likes it so much that when Jimmie believes his machine has been taken and his friends back home ruined, she refuses to return home and decides to go on the stage. Claire takes Jimmie back to his home, and in the nick of time saves his machine. When she mentions that Mary will be glad, Jimmie tells her that Mary has turned him down, and said that if he thought he could make Claire care for him, he should try. This results in a happy ending.
Like many American films of the time, An Even Break was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. The Chicago Board of Censors required cuts of two closeups of dancers over floor lights, the doping of drink and a vision of the same where a waiter talks to dancer, and the placing of explosives by a car. [3]
Camille is a 1917 American silent film based on the play adaptation of La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas, fils, first published in French as a novel in 1848 and as a play in 1852. Adapted for the screen by Adrian Johnson, Camille was directed by J. Gordon Edwards and starred Theda Bara as Camille and Albert Roscoe as her lover, Armand.
Back Stage is a 1917 American short comedy film featuring Oliver Hardy.
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The Little Boy Scout is a lost 1917 American silent drama film produced by Famous Players Film Company and released by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Francis J. Grandon and starred Ann Pennington. The motion picture was also known as “The Little Soldier Girl”
Selfish Yates is a 1918 American silent Western film starring William S. Hart. It was directed by and co-produced by Hart along with Thomas H. Ince. Paramount Pictures handled distribution.
Sapho is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Hugh Ford and written by Hugh Ford and Doty Hobart. The film stars Pauline Frederick, Frank Losee, John St. Polis, Pedro de Cordoba, and Thomas Meighan. It is based on the novel Sapho by Alphonse Daudet. The film was released on March 11, 1917, by Paramount Pictures. It is not known whether the film currently survives.
His Mother's Boy is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Victor Schertzinger and written by Ella Stuart Carson. The film stars Charles Ray, Doris May, William Elmer, Josef Swickard, Jerome Storm, and Gertrude Claire. It is based on the short story "Where Life is Marked Down" by Rupert Hughes. The film was released on December 24, 1917, by Paramount Pictures.
Mountain Dew is a lost 1917 American silent comedy-drama film directed by Thomas N. Heffron and starring Margery Wilson. It was produced and distributed by the Triangle Film Corporation.