Charley's Aunt (1925 film)

Last updated

Charley's Aunt
Charley's Aunt (1925, poster B).jpg
Directed by Scott Sidney
Written by Joseph Farnham
F. McGrew Willis
Based on Charley's Aunt
by Brandon Thomas
Produced by Al Christie
Starring Syd Chaplin
Ethel Shannon
Lucien Littlefield
Cinematography Paul Garnett
Gus Peterson
Music by David Drazin
Production
company
Christie Film Company
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date
  • February 8, 1925 (1925-02-08)
Running time
80 minutes
CountryUnited States
Language Silent (English intertitles)
Box office$556,529 (by December 1926) [1]

Charley's Aunt is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed by Scott Sidney and starring Syd Chaplin, Ethel Shannon, and Lucien Littlefield. [2] It was one of a handful of leading roles for Syd Chaplin, older brother of the more famous Charlie. [3]

Contents

It is an adaptation of Brandon Thomas' 1892 farce of the same name about an Oxford University student who cross-dressing as a woman to fool a visitor. One of several film versions of the play, it was adapted again by Columbia Pictures as a sound film in 1930. The film was a commercial success, grossing over half a million dollars. It was popular in Germany, where it released by the leading film company UFA.

Plot

As described in a review in a film magazine, [4] while on vacation, Fancourt Babberley (Chaplin), known to his friends as Babbs, falls in love with Ela (Shannon) and schemes to help her father (Francis), who has lost heavily at roulette. Babbs sends him away and later learns the truth, starts for England with her chaperon Donna Lucia (Jenson). In the meantime, Babbs friends Jack (James) and Charlie (Harrison), on hearing that Donna, Charley's wealthy aunt from Brazil, will visit him, invite their girls Amy (Akin) and Kitty (Bonner) to a luncheon, hoping to propose to them. Donna does not arrive, and Jack and Charley persuade Babbs to use some stage makeup left over from a college play to pose as Charley's aunt. The situation is then complicated when Spettigue (Page), the guardian of the young women who opposes their love affairs, and Jack's father Sir Francis Chesney (Smalley) show up. Both are interested in Charley's aunt because of her supposed great wealth. In the midst of the exciting situation Donna, the real aunt, appears but conceals her identity. Finally, Babbs gets consent for the young women's marriage by promising to marry Spettigue, and then reveals that he has been masquerading. In the end, all is straightened out and Babbs wins Ela while Donna marries Sir Francis, who was her old sweetheart.

Cast

Preservation

Copies of Charley's Aunt are located in several film archives including the BFI National Archive, George Eastman Museum Motion Picture Collection, and Academy Film Archive. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Ruggles</span> American actor (1886–1970)

Charles Sherman Ruggles was an American comic character actor. In a career spanning six decades, Ruggles appeared in close to 100 feature films, often in mild-mannered and comic roles. He was also the elder brother of director, producer, and silent film actor Wesley Ruggles (1889–1972).

<i>Wheres Charley?</i> Musical by Frank Loesser

Where's Charley? is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by George Abbott. The story was based on the 1892 play Charley's Aunt by Brandon Thomas. The musical debuted on Broadway in 1948 and was revived on Broadway and in the West End. Ray Bolger starred, and sang the popular song "Once In Love With Amy".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brandon Thomas (playwright)</span> English actor, playwright and songwriter

Walter Brandon Thomas was an English actor, playwright and songwriter, best known as the author of the farce Charley's Aunt.

<i>Charleys Aunt</i> Farce written by Brandon Thomas

Charley's Aunt is a farce in three acts written by Brandon Thomas. The story centres on Lord Fancourt Babberley, an undergraduate whose friends Jack and Charley persuade him to impersonate the latter's aunt. The complications of the plot include the arrival of the real aunt and the attempts of an elderly fortune hunter to woo the bogus aunt. The play concludes with three pairs of young lovers united, along with an older pair – Charley's real aunt and Jack's widowed father.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chesney</span> Surname list

Chesney is an English surname or given name and a French surname It is derived from Old French chesnaie. The name first reached England following its conquest by the Normans in 1066, the modern French spelling of the common name is chênaie "oak grove". Notable persons with the name include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Mulhall</span> American actor (1887–1979)

John Joseph Francis Mulhall was an American film actor beginning in the silent film era who successfully transitioned to sound films, appearing in over 430 films in a career spanning 50 years.

<i>A Little Bit of Fluff</i> (1928 film) 1928 film

A Little Bit of Fluff, is a 1928 British silent comedy film directed by Wheeler Dryden and Jess Robbins and starring Sydney Chaplin, Betty Balfour and Edmund Breon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flora Le Breton</span> English silent film actress (1899–1951)

Flora Le Breton was an English silent film actress from Croydon, Surrey, England. She was a dainty blonde with dark blue eyes. In the UK she was called both "the British Mary Pickford" and "the English Mary Pickford".

<i>Mabel at the Wheel</i> 1914 film

Mabel at the Wheel is a 1914 American motion picture starring Charlie Chaplin and Mabel Normand, and directed by Mabel Normand and Mack Sennett. The film is also known as Hot Finish.

<i>The Lodger</i> (1944 film) 1944 American horror film by John Brahm

The Lodger is a 1944 American horror film about Jack the Ripper, based on the 1913 novel of the same name by Marie Belloc Lowndes. It stars Merle Oberon, George Sanders, and Laird Cregar, features Sir Cedric Hardwicke, and was directed by John Brahm from a screenplay by Barré Lyndon.

<i>Hello, Im Your Aunt!</i> 1975 Soviet Union film

Hello, I'm Your Aunt! is a Soviet 1975 comedy directed by Viktor Titov loosely based on the 1892 play Charley's Aunt by Brandon Thomas. Produced by T/O Ekran. The film was an immense hit; many lines from the film became catch phrases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amy Brandon Thomas</span> British actress (1890–1974)

Amy Marguerite Brandon Thomas was an English film and stage actress. She was the daughter of the playwright Brandon Thomas. She is also known as Amy Brandon-Thomas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Etienne Girardot</span> English actor (1856-1939)

Etienne Girardot was a diminutive stage and film actor of Anglo-French parentage born in London, England.

<i>Charleys Aunt</i> (1930 film) 1930 film by Al Christie

Charley's Aunt is a 1930 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Al Christie and starring Charles Ruggles, June Collyer, and Hugh Williams. It was an adaptation of the 1892 play Charley's Aunt by Brandon Thomas. It marked the film debut of Williams, who then returned to Britain and became a major star.

<i>Charleys Aunt</i> (1941 film) 1941 film by Archie Mayo

Charley's Aunt is a 1941 American historical comedy film directed by Archie Mayo. It stars Jack Benny and Kay Francis. It was the fourth American filmed version of the 1892 stage farce of the same name by Brandon Thomas. It remained one of Benny's personal favourites among his own films.

<i>Wheres Charley?</i> (film) 1952 film by David Butler

Where's Charley? is a 1952 British musical comedy film directed by David Butler. It starred Ray Bolger, Allyn Ann McLerie and Robert Shackleton. It is an adaptation of the musical Where's Charley?, which was in turn based on the 1892 play Charley's Aunt by Brandon Thomas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Kemp (actor)</span> German actor

Paul Kemp was a German stage and film actor. Kemp worked as a piano accompaniest for silent films, and then served as an ambulance driver on the Western Front during the First World War. Post-war he moved into acting on the stage in Düsseldorf and Hamburg. His career really took off when he moved to Berlin in 1929, appearing in the hit stage version of the novel Menschen im Hotel by Vicki Baum. He made his film debut in 1930, shortly after the introduction of sound film. He appeared prolifically in German and Austrian films until his death in 1953.

<i>Charleys Aunt</i> (1934 film) 1934 film

Charley's Aunt is a 1934 German comedy film directed by Robert A. Stemmle and starring Fritz Rasp, Paul Kemp, and Max Gülstorff. It is based on the British writer Brandon Thomas's 1892 play Charley's Aunt. The film's sets were designed by art director Franz Schroedter.

<i>Charleys Aunt</i> (1926 film) 1926 film

Charley's Aunt is a 1926 Swedish silent comedy film directed by Elis Ellis and starring Ellis, Ralph Forbes and Renée Björling. It is an adaptation of the 1882 play Charley's Aunt by Brandon Thomas.

<i>Charleys Aunt</i> (1936 film) 1936 film

Charley's Aunt is a 1936 French comedy film directed by Pierre Colombier and starring Lucien Baroux, Olly von Flint and Monique Rolland. It is based on the 1892 play Charley's Aunt by Brandon Thomas. The film's sets were designed by the art director Jacques Colombier.

References

  1. Box Office Information for Charley's Aunt
  2. Progressive Silent Film List: Charley's Aunt at silentera.com
  3. McCaffrey & Jacobs p. 75
  4. Sewel, Charles S. (February 21, 1925). "Charley's Aunt; Screen Version of Famous Stage Farce with Syd Chaplin Is Riot of Laughs and Box-Office Winner". The Moving Picture World. 72 (8). New York City: Chalmers Publishing Co.: 785. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  5. Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: Charley's Aunt

Bibliography