''Fine Manners'' is a 1926 American

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

silent

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed initially by

Lewis Milestone Lewis Milestone (born Leib Milstein (Russian: Лейб Мильштейн); September 30, 1895 – September 25, 1980) was a Moldovan-American film director. He is known for directing ''Two Arabian Knights'' (1927) and '' All Quiet on the Weste ...

and completed by

Richard Rosson Richard Rosson (April 4, 1893 – May 31, 1953) was an American film director and actor. As an actor, he was known for the nearly 100 films he was in during the silent era. As a director, he directed the logging sequences in the 1936 film '' C ...

for

Famous Players-Lasky Famous Players-Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company formed on June 28, 1916, from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company—originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays—and t ...

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

. After an argument with actress

Gloria Swanson Gloria May Josephine Swanson (March 27, 1899April 4, 1983) was an American actress and producer. She first achieved fame acting in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, most f ...

, director Milestone walked off the project, causing the film to be completed by Rosson, who had picked up directorial tricks while working as an

assistant director The role of an assistant director on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have to tak ...

Allan Dwan Allan Dwan (born Joseph Aloysius Dwan; April 3, 1885 – December 28, 1981) was a pioneering Canadian-born American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter. Early life Born Joseph Aloysius Dwan in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Dwan, was ...

. The success of the film, being Rosson's first directorial effort since he co-directed ''

Her Father's Keeper ''Her Father's Keeper'' is a 1917 American silent film, silent drama film directed by Arthur Rosson and Richard Rosson and starring Irene Howley, Jack Devereaux and Frank Currier.Lombardi p.76 Cast * Irene Howley as Claire Masters * Jack Devereau ...

'' in 1917 with his brother

Arthur Rosson Arthur Henry Rosson (24 August 1886 – 17 June 1960) was an English film director. From 1917 to 1948, Rosson directed 61 feature films (including co-direction of ''Red River (1948 film), Red River''). He also worked on many major films as a ...

, won him a long-term contract with Famous Players-Lasky.

Plot

Burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

chorus girl A chorus line is a large group of dancers who together perform synchronized routines, usually in musical theatre. Sometimes, singing is also performed. Chorus line dancers in Broadway musicals and revues have been referred to by slang terms s ...

Orchid Murphy (

) attracts the attention of wealthy Brian Alden ( Eugene O'Brien), who is posing as a writer while "slumming" in the city. Finding her manner quite refreshing compared to the women he usually meets in his circle, he falls in love with her and confesses his wealth. After she agrees to marriage, he leaves for a six-month tour of South America, and Orchid takes a course in "fine manners" to better prepare herself for Brian's world. She becomes too polished, however, and when asked by Brian to marry him upon his return, is happy to become herself again.

Cast

as Orchid Murphy * Eugene O'Brien as Brian Alden *

Helen Dunbar Helen Dunbar (born Katheryn Burke Lackey; October 10, 1863 – August 28, 1933) was an American theatrical performer and silent film actress. Career Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Dunbar first appeared with the Weber & Fields Stock Co ...

as Aunt Agatha *

Roland Drew Roland Drew (born Walter Goss; August 4, 1900 – March 17, 1988) was an American actor. Biography Born in 1900 in New York City, Drew made his first film in 1926 and continued to work until the 1940s. Noted primarily as Dolores del Río' ...

as Buddy Murphy *

John Miltern John Miltern (1870-1937) was an actor in theater and films in the United States. He was in the Broadway play ''Yellow Jack''. He was also in Channing Pollock's play ''Roads of Destiny''. Another of his stage performances was described as manly a ...

as Courtney Adams *

Jack La Rue Jack La Rue (born Gaspare Biondolillo; May 3, 1902 – January 11, 1984) was an American film and stage actor. Early years The son of Sicilian immigrants Pasquale and Concetta Biondolillo, La Rue was born in New York City. His father sailed to ...

as New Year's Eve Celebrant *

Ivan Lebedeff Ivan Lebedeff (born Ivan Vasilyevich Lebedev ( rus, Иван Васильевич Лебедев), 18 June 1894 – 31 March 1953) was a Russian film actor, lecturer and writer. He appeared in 66 films between 1926 and 1953. In 1940, his no ...

as Prince

Critical reception

Berkeley Daily Gazette Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish people, Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakla ...

'' wrote that in her first time in the role of a burlesque chorus girl, Gloria Swanson is "better than ever" and has "added another interesting screen portrayal to her long list of successes." ''

Miami News ''The Miami News'' was an evening newspaper in Miami, Florida. It was the media market competitor to the morning edition of the '' Miami Herald'' for most of the 20th century. The paper started publishing in May 1896 as a weekly called ''The Miami ...

'' called the film "a most laughable comedy" and reported "Critics say this is Gloria's triumph". ''

St. Petersburg Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...

'' wote that ''Fine Manners'' stands head and shoulders above anything Gloria has done for the past year," and note that the story was written specifically for her. They wrote that the film "will prove to be the star's most popular vehicle." Conversely, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' noted that ''Fine Manners'' was reminiscent of

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

's play, ''

Pygmalion Pygmalion or Pigmalion may refer to: Mythology * Pygmalion (mythology), a sculptor who fell in love with his statue Stage * ''Pigmalion'' (opera), a 1745 opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau * ''Pygmalion'' (Rousseau), a 1762 melodrama by Jean-Jacques ...

'', writing "The photoplay has been constructed with meticulous attention to the edicts of the movie school of conventionalities; true characterization, intrigue and subtlety are conspicuously absent. Still, the idea of introducing a chorus girl from a burlesque show and having her try valiantly to grasp the ways of a less demonstrative society, does bring to mind Shaw's cockney heroine." They noted that writers underscore the differences between the societal ranks of the two protagonists by emphasizing Orchid's ignorance of social amenities and by her being assigned a common name. While granting that there are scenes in which the cinematography is clever, they made note that the story itself is not very absorbing.

Preservation

The film has survived the decades and is preserved in several archive houses such as George Eastman House, The Library of Congress and the Museum of Modern Art.The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog:''Fine Manners''
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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fine Manners 1926 films Silent American comedy films American silent feature films 1920s English-language films American black-and-white films Films directed by Lewis Milestone Films directed by Richard Rosson Paramount Pictures films Famous Players-Lasky films 1926 directorial debut films 1926 comedy films 1920s American films