See America Thirst

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See America Thirst
See America Thirst.jpg
Film poster
Directed by William James Craft
Written by Jerry Horwin
Edward Ludwig
Vin Moore
Produced by Carl Laemmle
Starring Harry Langdon
Slim Summerville
Bessie Love
Cinematography Arthur C. Miller
Edited byHarry W. Lieb
Music bySam Perry (silent version)
Heinz Roemheld (silent version)
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date
  • November 23, 1930 (1930-11-23)(U.S.)
Running time
75 minutes; 8 reels [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

See America Thirst is a 1930 American pre-Code comedy film produced and distributed by Universal Pictures and directed by William James Craft. Silent comics Harry Langdon and Slim Summerville star along with Bessie Love. Though released late in 1930, it nevertheless had a silent version. [2] [3]

Contents

In the film, Bessie Love introduced the type of sandals later known as "flip-flops" to American audiences.[ citation needed ] The title is a parody of the Cole Porter musical See America First .

Plot

Slim (Summerville) and Wally (Langdon) are mistaken for hired killers, and are paid to murder a bootlegger. They encounter nightclub singer Ellen (Love), associated with the district attorney's office, who assists them in convincing the gang leader to pay them double for protection. Everything goes well until the actual hired killers show up. [2] [4] [5] [6]

Cast

Reception

The film did not receive positive reviews, and was deemed not to be funny. [4]

Preservation status

Copies are preserved at the UCLA Film and Television Archive and the Library of Congress. [7] [8]

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References

  1. Schelly, William (January 10, 2014). Harry Langdon: His Life and Films. McFarland. p. 193. ISBN   978-0-7864-5185-2.
  2. 1 2 Munden, Kenneth W., ed. (1971). The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films 1921–1930 . New York: R.R. Bowker Company. p.  694. OCLC   664500075.
  3. "The AFI Catalog of Feature Films 1893–1993: See America Thirst".
  4. 1 2 Motion Picture Reviews. Los Angeles, CA: Women's University Club. 1930. p.  7.
  5. Hacker, Tom (October 25, 1930). "New Product". Exhibitors Herald World. p.  43.
  6. Catalog of 16 mm Silent Motion Picture Film Library. New York: Mogull's Camera and Film Exchange. 1940. p.  14.
  7. "See America thirst / Universal Pictures ; presented by Carl Laemmle ; director, William James Craft ; screenplay-dialogue, Henry Le Cossitt ; adaptation, C. Jerome Horwin ; story, Vin Moore, Edward Luddy". UCLA Library: Film & Television Archive.
  8. The American Film Institute (1978). Catalog of Holdings: The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress. Washington. p. 162. OCLC   5102838.

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