The Wise Guy | |
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Directed by | Frank Lloyd |
Written by | Adela Rogers St. Johns (adaptation) Ada McQuillan (scenario) George Marion, Jr. (intertitles) |
Story by | Jules Furthman |
Produced by | Frank Lloyd |
Starring | Mary Astor James Kirkwood Betty Compson |
Cinematography | Norbert Brodine |
Distributed by | First National Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 8 reels (7,775 feet) |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
The Wise Guy is a 1926 American silent crime drama film produced and directed by Frank Lloyd and distributed through First National Pictures. Jules Furthman provided a screen story with scenario by Adela Rogers St. Johns. Mary Astor, James Kirkwood, and Betty Compson star. [1]
This article needs a plot summary.(January 2024) |
Because the Kirkwood character was a criminal posing as an evangelistic minister who performs marriage and burial ceremonies, the film was found by the New York Board of Censors to be sacrilegious and banned from distribution unless remade. The Board was also concerned by the number of times the name of the Deity appeared in subtitles spoken by the fake minister. First National estimated the cost of resolving the Board's issues to be an additional $50,000 above the initial cost of $175,000. [2]
Previously considered lost, a print of The Wise Guy is preserved at the National Archives of Canada. [3] [4]
Betty Compson was an American actress and film producer who got her start during Hollywood's silent era. She is best known for her performances in The Docks of New York and The Barker, the latter of which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
James Cruze was a silent film actor and film director.
Convention City is a 1933 American pre-Code sex comedy film directed by Archie Mayo, and starring Joan Blondell, Guy Kibbee, Dick Powell, Mary Astor and Adolphe Menjou. The film was produced by Henry Blanke and First National Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros.
James Cornelius Kirkwood Sr. was an American actor and director.
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For Those We Love is a 1921 American silent romantic drama film produced by and starring Betty Compson, and featuring Lon Chaney and Richard Rosson. Written and directed by Arthur Rosson, the film was based on a story by Perley Poore Sheehan (who later co-wrote the script for Chaney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The film was distributed by Goldwyn Pictures. Some sources list the release date as being in March 1921. This is unlikely since the film was only copyrighted in July, but the exact release date has not been confirmed. It is now considered a lost film. A still exists showing Chaney holding the heroine.
To Have and to Hold is a 1916 American silent adventure/drama film directed by George Melford. Based on the 1899 novel of the same name, the film starred Wallace Reid and Mae Murray in her film debut.
To the Ladies is a 1923 American silent comedy film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and released by Paramount Pictures. It is based on a 1922 Broadway play, To the Ladies, by George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly.
The Little Minister is a 1921 American silent drama film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is based on an 1891 novel and 1897 play by J. M. Barrie. Betty Compson stars in the film. Earlier film adaptations of Barrie's novel were mad and this one was released within weeks of a version by Vitagraph starring Alice Calhoun.
Scarlet Seas is a surviving 1929 American synchronized sound romantic adventure film produced by Richard A. Rowland and distributed by First National Pictures. Although there is no audible dialogue, the film was released with a musical score with sound effects using the Vitaphone sound-on-disc recording process. The picture was directed by John Francis Dillon. It starred Richard Barthelmess, Betty Compson, and a teen-aged Loretta Young. Originally, the film was presumed lost.
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Cheating Cheaters is a 1927 American silent comedy crime film produced and distributed by Universal Pictures. It was directed by Edward Laemmle and starred Betty Compson. This film was based on a 1916 Broadway play of the same name by Max Marcin.
Eve's Daughter is a 1918 American silent comedy-drama film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by James Kirkwood and starred popular theatre star Billie Burke.
Hugh Trevor was an American actor whose short career began at the very end of the silent era in 1927. He would appear in nineteen films in the scant six years during which he was active. He did not fare well with the advent of talking pictures, and retired from the industry in 1931. His life was cut short when he unexpectedly died from complications following appendectomy surgery in 1933.
The Woman With Four Faces is a lost 1923 American silent crime melodrama film directed by Herbert Brenon and starring Betty Compson. Famous Players–Lasky produced while Paramount Pictures released. The story is based on a play, The Woman With Four Faces, by Bayard Veiller.
Locked Doors is a 1925 American silent romantic drama film directed by William C. deMille and starring Betty Compson. It was produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures.
The Top of the World is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by George Melford and starring James Kirkwood, Sr., Anna Q. Nilsson, Joseph Kilgour, Mary Mersch, Raymond Hatton, Sheldon Lewis, and Charles A. Post. Based on a 1920 novel of the same title by Ethel M. Dell, the screenplay was written by Jack Cunningham. It was released on February 9, 1925, by Paramount Pictures.
The Border Raiders is a 1918 American silent Western film directed by Stuart Paton and starring Betty Compson and George Larkin. It was shot on the Hopi Reservation in Arizona.
The Branding Iron is a 1920 American silent drama film directed by Reginald Barker and starring Barbara Castleton and James Kirkwood. It was produced by Barker and Samuel Goldwyn and distributed by Goldwyn Pictures. Castleton appeared nude in the film, which caused the particular scene to be cut in some parts of the country. Pennsylvania banned the film altogether due to the topic of infidelity.