''Bab's Diary'' is a 1917 American silent

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film directed by

J. Searle Dawley James Searle Dawley (October 4, 1877 – March 30, 1949) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, stage actor, and playwright. Between 1907 and the mid-1920s, while working for Edison, Rex Motion Picture Company, Famous Player ...

and starring

Marguerite Clark Helen Marguerite Clark (February 22, 1883 – September 25, 1940) was an American stage and silent film actress. As a movie actress, at one time, Clark was second only to Mary Pickford in popularity. All but five of her films are considered ...

. The film's scenario was written by Martha D. Foster, based on the screen story "Her Diary" by

Mary Roberts Rinehart Mary Roberts Rinehart (August 12, 1876September 22, 1958) was an American writer, often called the American Agatha Christie.Keating, H.R.F., ''The Bedside Companion to Crime''. New York: Mysterious Press, 1989, p. 170. Rinehart published her fir ...

. This was the first in a trilogy of ''Babs'' films all starring Clark.

Plot

As described in a film magazine, Barbara Archibald (Clark), nicknamed Bab, objects to being pushed into the background and, to give her family something to think about, declares that she is in love and is about to be married and end it all. She is amazed of the effect of her remark and thereupon invents a name for her lover and buys a photograph of a likely looking chap to pretend he sent to her. Matters become complicated when Carter Brooks (Barrie), a friend of the family, announces to Bab that he knows her newfound friend and promises to bring him to a party so Bab can see him. He also volunteers to personally deliver an impassioned love note she penned to her imaginary sweetheart by the name she had selected for him. An actor made up like the photograph is introduced to Bab, and persists in his attentions until she flees from the house. She wants to be rid of the love note and goes to the actor's apartment to secure it. An alarm is raised and she is found by the police apparently drowning in the bathtub, into which she had fallen. Matters are straightened up at home, but she is sent back to school in disgrace. The intertitles for the film are excerpts from Bab's diary which added to its amusement.

Cast

Preservation

With no prints located in any film archives, all three of the ''Bab's'' films are now presumed

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

References

External links

* * 1917 films 1917 romantic comedy films American romantic comedy films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films directed by J. Searle Dawley Lost American films Paramount Pictures films Films based on works by Mary Roberts Rinehart 1917 lost films Lost romantic comedy films 1910s American films Silent romantic comedy films Silent American comedy films 1910s English-language films English-language romantic comedy films {{romance-comedy-film-stub

Plot

Cast

Preservation

See also

References

External links