The Whole Town's Talking (1926 film)

Last updated

The Whole Town's Talking
Directed by Edward Laemmle
Screenplay by Raymond Cannon
Based onThe Whole Town's Talking
by Anita Loos and John Emerson
Produced by Carl Laemmle
Starring Edward Everett Horton
Virginia Lee Corbin
Trixie Friganza
Cinematography Charles J. Stumar
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date
  • December 26, 1926 (1926-12-26)
Running time
6,662 feet
CountryUnited States
Language Silent (English intertitles)

The Whole Town's Talking is a 1926 American silent romantic comedy film directed by Edward Laemmle and starring Edward Everett Horton, Virginia Lee Corbin, and Trixie Friganza. It is based on a play by Anita Loos and John Emerson. [1] [2]

Contents

Plot

As described in a film magazine, [3] war veteran Chester Binney incorrectly believes he is carrying a silver plate in his skull and must avoid all excitement and exertion, returns to his home town where he is feted by his old employer George Simmons, a big butter and egg magnate who hopes to strike up a match between his daughter Ethel and the ex-doughboy, as the latter is heir to a tidy fortune. Chester, however, proves a flop at lovemaking and the haughty girl drops him cold. Simmons decides upon a plan that will add some color to the drab past of the rejected suitor. On the back of a photograph of Rita Renault, a movie star, he pens a love message to Chester and signs Rita’s name. Ethel finds out that Chester has been a devil with the women in the past she begins to play for him. Chester confesses that it was all a hoax and that he has never set eyes on Rita, but she becomes the more attracted to him when she believes him to be an accomplished liar.

Rita arrives in town for a personal appearance, accompanied by her jealous husband Jack Shields, a prize fighter. Simmons, who has lied to his wife as to his whereabouts on the previous night, sees the name Jack Shields on the hotel register and tells her that he is the man with whom he has been transacting business. Mrs. Simmons checks this by calling the hotel. Shields is out, but she is satisfied that he is no myth, and all is peace until Shields enters the hotel lobby and gets the cryptic phone message from the Simmons family. Curiosity takes him to the Simmons mansion, where he is introduced by Donald Mont Allen, a dapper suitor of Ethel’s who yearns for the overthrow of Chester. He shows Shields the photograph of Rita. Shields becomes angry and cross-questions Chester.

Rita, learning of her husband’s errand, decides to teach him a lesson. She calls at the Simmons house and embraces Chester, covering him with kisses. A running fight follows between Shields and Chester, the latter trying to hide for fear the excitement will kill him. Mrs. Simmons calls a cop, who bangs at a locked door behind which Shields, Chester, and Mont Allen are engaged in a scuffle in the dark. Chester is hiding under the table while Shields and Mont Allen, each believing the other to be the hated Chester, batter themselves to a finish. When the door is broken down, Chester recognizes the cop as an army buddy, who explains to him that he (the cop) is the one who is wearing the silver plate. Hearing this, Chester takes a new lease on life, knocking down his two enemies when they get up from the floor. The two men slink off while he roughly holds the haughty Ethel, who gladly submits to his cave man embraces.

Cast

Preservation status

A complete print of The Whole Town's Talking is held in the UCLA Film and Television Archive. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trixie Friganza</span> American actress (1870–1955)

Trixie Friganza was an American actress. She began her career as an operetta soubrette, working her way from the chorus to starring in musical comedies to having her own feature act on the vaudeville circuit.

<i>Gentlemen Prefer Blondes</i> (1928 film) 1928 film

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a 1928 American silent comedy film directed by Mal St. Clair, co-written by Anita Loos based on her 1925 novel, and released by Paramount Pictures. No copies are known to exist, and it is now considered to be a lost film. The Broadway version Gentlemen Prefer Blondes starring Carol Channing as Lorelei Lee was mounted in 1949. It was remade into the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes with Jane Russell as Dorothy Shaw and Marilyn Monroe as Lorelei Lee in 1953.

<i>Proud Flesh</i> (film) 1925 film

Proud Flesh is a 1925 American silent comedy-drama film directed by King Vidor and starring Eleanor Boardman, Pat O'Malley, and Harrison Ford in a romantic triangle.

<i>The Unholy Three</i> (1930 film) 1930 American melodrama film

The Unholy Three is a 1930 American Pre-Code melodrama directed by Jack Conway and starring Lon Chaney. Its plot involves a crime spree. The film is a sound remake of the silent 1925 film of the same name, with both films based on the novel The Unholy Three, by Tod Robbins.

<i>The White Desert</i> 1925 film by Reginald Barker

The White Desert is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Reginald Barker. The film stars Claire Windsor and Pat O'Malley, with Robert Frazer, Frank Currier, and Sōjin Kamiyama. It is written by Monte M. Katterjohn and Gordon Rigby and adopted from Denver author Courtney Ryley Cooper's novel The White Desert (1922). This B movie was produced to keep the Loew circuit and other cinemas supplied. The title refers to the snow covered Colorado landscape during winter.

Monte Carlo is a 1926 American silent romantic comedy film directed by Christy Cabanne and starring Lew Cody. It was produced by and distributed through Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

<i>The Case of Becky</i> 1921 film

The Case of Becky is a 1921 American silent drama film based on a successful 1912 play written by David Belasco and Edward J. Locke, The Case of Becky. Belasco also produced the play, which starred his muse, Frances Starr.

<i>Here Comes the Bride</i> (1919 film) 1919 film by John S. Robertson

Here Comes the Bride is a lost 1919 American silent comedy film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and released by Paramount Pictures. This film is based on the 1917 Broadway play Here Comes the Bride by Max Marcin and Roy Atwell. The film was directed by John S. Robertson and stars John Barrymore.

<i>Hollywood Cavalcade</i> 1939 American film

Hollywood Cavalcade is a 1939 American film featuring Alice Faye as a young performer making her way in the early days of Hollywood, from slapstick silent pictures through the transition from silent to sound.

<i>Second Youth</i> (1924 film) 1924 film by Albert Parker

Second Youth is a 1924 American silent romantic comedy film produced by Distinctive Pictures and distributed through Goldwyn Pictures. The film is one of the few and rare silent appearances of Broadway husband and wife team Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne.

<i>The Coming of Amos</i> 1925 film by Paul Sloane

The Coming of Amos is a 1925 American silent romantic drama film directed by Paul Sloane, produced by Cecil B. DeMille and distributed by his Producers Distributing Corporation. Copies of this film survive and can be found on home video and more recently on DVD.

<i>Borrowed Finery</i> 1925 film by Oscar Apfel

Borrowed Finery is a 1925 American silent drama film produced and released by Tiffany Pictures, and based on a story by George Bronson Howard. Veteran director and performer Oscar Apfel directed a cast that includes Louise Lorraine, Hedda Hopper, Lou Tellegen, and Ward Crane.

<i>Treasure Island</i> (1918 film) 1918 film by Sidney Franklin, Chester M. Franklin

Treasure Island is a 1918 American silent adventure film based on the 1883 novel of the same name by Robert Louis Stevenson. This is one of many silent versions of the story and is noteworthy because it is almost entirely acted by child or teenage actors. The film was co-directed by brothers Sidney and Chester Franklin. The film is one of Fox's Sunset Kiddies productions following in the wake of previous Kiddie productions like Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp. This is a lost film.

<i>Taxi 13</i> 1928 film

Taxi 13 is a 1928 sound part-talkie film comedy produced and distributed by Film Booking Offices of America and directed by Marshall Neilan. In addition to sequences with audible dialogue or talking sequences, the film features a synchronized musical score and sound effects along with English intertitles. The soundtrack was recorded using the RCA Photophone sound-on-film system. The film stars Chester Conklin in what is FBO's first film with a pre-recorded soundtrack.

<i>Free and Easy</i> (1930 film) 1930 film

Free and Easy is a 1930 American pre-Code comedy film starring Buster Keaton. It was Keaton's first leading role in a talking motion picture.

<i>The Charmer</i> (1925 film) 1925 film by Sidney Olcott

The Charmer is a 1925 American silent drama film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount. It was directed by Sidney Olcott with Pola Negri in the leading role.

Ex-Bad Boy is a 1931 American comedy film directed by Vin Moore and written by Fred Niblo, Jr. and Dale Van Every. The film stars Robert Armstrong, Jean Arthur, Jason Robards, Sr., Spencer Charters, Grayce Hampton and Lola Lane. The film was released on July 15, 1931, by Universal Pictures.

<i>Men of the Night</i> (1926 film) 1926 film

Men of the Night is a 1926 American silent crime film directed by Albert S. Rogell and starring Herbert Rawlinson. It was produced and distributed by independent film producer Sterling Pictures.

<i>Three OClock in the Morning</i> (film) 1923 film

Three O'Clock in the Morning is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by Kenneth S. Webb and starring Constance Binney, Edmund Breese, and Richard Thorpe. It is now considered to be a lost film.

<i>The Better Half</i> (film) 1918 film

The Better Half is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by John S. Robertson and starring Alice Brady, David Powell and Crauford Kent.

References

  1. Munden, Kenneth White (1997). The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States. University of California Press. p. 896. ISBN   978-0-520-20969-5.
  2. Progressive Silent Film List: The Whole Town's Talking at silentera.com
  3. "Universal Synopses: The Whole Town's Talking". Universal Weekly. New York City: Motion Picture Weekly Publishing Company. 25 (22): 38. July 9, 1927. Retrieved November 2, 2023.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  4. TheLibrary of Congress / FIAF American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: The Whole Town's Talking