The Gold Diggers (1923 film)

Last updated

The Gold Diggers
Gold Diggers (SAYRE 14187).jpg
Still with Wyndham Standing and Hope Hampton
Directed by Harry Beaumont
Written byGrant Carpenter (scenario)
Based on The Gold Diggers
(1919 play)
by Avery Hopwood
Produced by David Belasco
Starring Hope Hampton
Wyndham Standing
Louise Fazenda
Edited by Frank Mitchell Dazey
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release date
  • September 22, 1923 (1923-09-22)(US)
Running time
80 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent (English intertitles)
Budget$280,000 [1]
Box office$501,000 [1]

The Gold Diggers is a Warner Bros. silent comedy film directed by Harry Beaumont with screenplay by Grant Carpenter [2] based on the play The Gold Diggers by Avery Hopwood which ran for 282 performances on Broadway in 1919 and 1920. Both the play and the film were produced by David Belasco. The film stars Hope Hampton, Wyndham Standing, and Louise Fazenda. It was also the (uncredited) film debut of Louise Beavers. [3]

Contents

The story of The Gold Diggers was filmed again as a talkie in 1929 as Gold Diggers of Broadway , which is now lost, and also in 1933 as Gold Diggers of 1933 , with musical numbers created by Busby Berkeley. Three other sequels followed: Gold Diggers of 1935 (1935), Gold Diggers of 1937 (1936), and Gold Diggers in Paris (1938).

Plot

Wally Saunders (Johnny Harron) wants to marry chorus girl Violet Dayne (Anne Cornwall), but his uncle, Stephen Lee (Wyndham Standing) thinks that all chorines are gold diggers (people who date others to get money from them) and refuses to give his approval. Violet's friend Jerry La Mar (Hope Hampton) is not a gold digger, but she agrees to go after Lee so aggressively that Violet will look tame by comparison. Of course, the uncle and the friend fall in love and get married, even after he knows the truth about her, and he gives permission for Wally and Violet to get hitched too.

Cast

Box office

According to Warner Bros records the film earned $470,000 domestically and $31,000 foreign. [1]

Preservation

With no prints of The Gold Diggers located in any archive it was for decades presumed to be a lost film. In May 2021, a collector found an incomplete nitrate 35mm Belgian print in England, which has been uploaded to YouTube. [4] The surviving footage includes reels 1,4,5 and 6, although some of the extant reels have missing sections at the beginning and end of the reels. In June 2021 the same collector uploaded a digitally scanned version of the first five minutes to YouTube, with plans to scan the remaining footage. [5]

See also

List of incomplete films

Related Research Articles

Gold Digger, Gold Diggers or The Gold Diggers may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Associated Artists Productions</span> Former production company

Associated Artists Productions, Inc. (a.a.p.) later known as United Artists Associated was an American distributor of theatrical feature films and short subjects for television. Associated Artists Productions was the copyright owner of the Popeye shorts by Paramount Pictures, and the pre-1950 Warner Bros. film library, notably the pre-August 1948 color Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated shorts, and the black-and-white Merrie Melodies shorts from Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising sans "Lady, Play Your Mandolin!"

<i>Gold Diggers of 1933</i> 1933 film by Mervyn LeRoy, Busby Berkeley

Gold Diggers of 1933 is a pre-Code Warner Bros. musical film directed by Mervyn LeRoy with songs by Harry Warren (music) and Al Dubin (lyrics), staged and choreographed by Busby Berkeley. It stars Warren William, Joan Blondell, Aline MacMahon, Ruby Keeler, and Dick Powell, and features Guy Kibbee, Ned Sparks and Ginger Rogers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louise Fazenda</span> American actress (1895–1962)

Louise Fazenda was an American film actress, appearing chiefly in silent comedy films.

<i>Gold Diggers of Broadway</i> Partially lost 1929 pre-Code American musical film

Gold Diggers of Broadway is a 1929 American pre-Code musical comedy film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Winnie Lightner and Nick Lucas. Distributed by Warner Bros., the film is the second all-talking, all-Technicolor feature-length film.

<i>On with the Show!</i> (1929 film) 1929 film

On with the Show! is a 1929 American pre-Code musical film produced by Warner Bros. Filmed in two-color Technicolor, the film is noted as the first all-talking, all-color feature length film, and the second color film released by Warner Bros.; the first was the partly color, black-and-white musical The Desert Song (1929).

<i>The Show of Shows</i> 1929 film

The Show of Shows is a 1929 American pre-Code musical revue film directed by John G. Adolfi and distributed by Warner Bros. The all-talking Vitaphone production cost almost $800,000 and was shot almost entirely in Technicolor.

<i>Song of the West</i> 1930 film

Song of the West is a 1930 American Pre-Code musical western film produced by Warner Bros., and photographed entirely in Technicolor. It was based on the 1928 Broadway musical Rainbow by Vincent Youmans (music), Oscar Hammerstein II (lyrics) and Laurence Stallings (book). It starred John Boles, Joe E. Brown and Vivienne Segal, and was the first all-color all-talking feature to be filmed entirely outdoors.

<i>The Desert Song</i> (1929 film) 1929 film by Roy Del Ruth

The Desert Song is a 1929 American Pre-Code operetta film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring John Boles, Carlotta King, Louise Fazenda, and Myrna Loy. It was photographed partly in two-color Technicolor, the first film released by Warner Bros. to include footage in color. The film included a 10-minute intermission during which music was played.

<i>Paris</i> (1929 film) 1929 film

Paris is a 1929 American Pre-Code musical comedy film, featuring Irène Bordoni. It was filmed with Technicolor sequences: four of the film's ten reels were originally photographed in Technicolor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willard Louis</span> American actor

Willard Louis was an American stage and film actor of the silent era. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1911 and 1926. He was born in San Francisco, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne Cornwall</span> American actress (1897–1980)

Anne Cornwall was an American actress best known for her roles in College (1927) and The Roughneck (1924).

<i>Gold Diggers of 1937</i> 1936 film by Busby Berkeley, Lloyd Bacon

Gold Diggers of 1937 is a Warner Bros. movie musical directed by Lloyd Bacon with musical numbers created and directed by Busby Berkeley. The film stars Dick Powell and Joan Blondell, who were married at the time, with Glenda Farrell and Victor Moore.

<i>Colleen</i> (1936 film) 1936 American film directed by Alfred Edward Green

Colleen is a 1936 American romantic musical comedy film directed by Alfred E. Green and starring Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, and Joan Blondell. It was produced and distributed by Warner Bros. and was the seventh and final picture starring both Keeler and Powell.

<i>Compromise</i> (film) 1925 film by Alan Crosland

Compromise is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Alan Crosland and produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The film was based on the 1923 novel of the same name by Jay Gelzer.

<i>Main Street</i> (1923 film) 1923 film by Harry Beaumont

Main Street is a 1923 American silent drama film based on the 1920 novel of the same name by Sinclair Lewis. It was produced and distributed by Warner Bros. and directed by Harry Beaumont. A Broadway play version of the novel was produced in 1921. It was the first film to be released after the foundation of Warner Bros. Pictures on April 4, 1923.

<i>The Lighthouse by the Sea</i> 1924 film by Malcolm St. Clair

The Lighthouse by the Sea is a 1924 American silent adventure film produced by and distributed by Warner Bros. The film's star is canine sensation Rin Tin Tin, the most famous animal actor of the 1920s. The film was directed by Malcolm St. Clair.

<i>Wide Open</i> (film) 1930 film

Wide Open is a 1930 American pre-Code romantic comedy film directed by Archie Mayo, starring Edward Everett Horton and Patsy Ruth Miller, and featuring Louise Fazenda, T. Roy Barnes and Edna Murphy. Released by Warner Bros., it is based on the 1924 novel The Narrow Street by Edward Bateman Morris.

<i>This Woman</i> (film) 1924 film directed by Phil Rosen

This Woman is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Phil Rosen, written by Louis D. Lighton and Hope Loring, and starring Irene Rich, Ricardo Cortez, Louise Fazenda, Frank Elliott, Creighton Hale, and Marc McDermott. Based on the 1924 novel This Woman by Howard Rockey, it was released by Warner Bros. on November 2, 1924.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Warner Bros financial information in The William Shaefer Ledger. See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 1-31 p 2 DOI: 10.1080/01439689508604551
  2. Progressive Silent Film List: The Gold Diggers at silentera.com
  3. Louise Beavers at IMDb
  4. The Gold Diggers. Warner Bros. 22 September 1923. LOST 35mm Nitrate. Near Complete. Flapper Film, archived from the original on December 21, 2021, retrieved June 3, 2021
  5. The Gold Diggers, 1923, Warner Brothers. Opening Section Scanned., archived from the original on December 21, 2021, retrieved August 7, 2021