''Don't Write Letters'' is a 1922 American silent

comedy-drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

directed by George D. Baker and starring

Gareth Hughes Gareth Hughes (23 August 1894 – 1 October 1965) was a Welsh stage and silent screen actor. Usually cast as a callow, sensitive hero in Hollywood silent films, Hughes got his start on stage during childhood and continued to play youthful lead ...

Bartine Burkett Bartine Burkett Zane (February 9, 1898 – May 20, 1994) was an American film actress. Burkett was born in Robeline, Louisiana to John Norvel Burkett and Bana G. (Howe) Burkett. She had a brother, Arthur. She gained acting experience in pr ...

, and

Herbert Heyes Herbert Harrison Heyes (August 3, 1889 – May 31, 1958) was an American film actor. He appeared in nearly 100 films between 1915 and 1956, including the famed 1947 film '' Miracle on 34th Street'', in which he played an ahistorical "Mr. Gimbel ...

.Berman p. 150

Plot

As described in a

film magazine Film periodicals combine discussion of individual films, genres and directors with in-depth considerations of the medium and the conditions of its production and reception. Their articles contrast with film reviewing in newspapers and magazines whi ...

, the film begins with a well-drawn cartoon of an early man carving his love letters on stone and the effect of getting slapped on the head with one, and of a medieval scene where Romeo brings the wrath of Juliet's father when he writes love letters to her and slips them over the balcony. Robert "Babby" Jenks (Hughes) is a department store clerk who pictures himself a hero in love with a beautiful girl. When he enlists to fight in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he is handicapped by his small size and consigned to the mess tent. He orders a blouse from the supply room and, as a joke by his friends, is given one a size 44 instead of his size 34. While kicking about in disgust, he finds a letter in its pocket written by a young woman in the shirt factory who asks the "big guy" who gets it to write back. Bobby enters into a correspondence with her, Anna May Jackson (Burkett) of

Flatbush, Brooklyn Flatbush is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood consists of several subsections in central Brooklyn and is generally bounded by Prospect Park to the north, East Flatbush to the east, Midwood to the south, ...

, New York. After becoming a hero of the Battle of Argonne and with the war over, Bobby returns to New York City but dreads telling Anna the truth. Therefore, he introduces another, larger soldier (Heyes) to Anna May. She refuses the substitute and forgives the real Bobby Jenks for his deception because, anyway, "he must have been a good mess cook."

Cast

as Robert W. Jenks *

as Anna May Jackson *

as Richard W. Jenks * Harry Lorraine as The Father *

Margaret Mann Margaret Mann (4 April 1868, in Aberdeen, Scotland – 4 February 1941, in Los Angeles, California), was a Scottish-American actress. Biography Margaret Mann starred in a number of major silent films such as '' Black Beauty'' in 1921 and play ...

as Aunt Jane * Lois Lee as The Sweetheart *

Victor Potel Victor Potel (October 12, 1889 – March 8, 1947) was an American film character actor who began in the silent era and appeared in more than 430 films in his 38-year career. Career Victor Potel was born in Lafayette, Indiana in 1889, and hi ...

as The Lover

References

Bibliography

* Ronald Berman. ''The Great Gatsby and Modern Times''. University of Illinois Press, 1996.

External links

* * 1922 films 1922 comedy-drama films Films directed by George D. Baker American silent feature films American black-and-white films Metro Pictures films 1920s English-language films 1920s American films Silent American comedy-drama films {{silent-comedy-drama-film-stub