''For Alimony Only'' is a 1926 American silent

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

William C. deMille William Churchill deMille (July 25, 1878 – March 5, 1955), also spelled de Mille or De Mille, was an American screenwriter and film director from the silent film era through the early 1930s. He was also a noted playwright prior to moving into ...

and starring

Leatrice Joy Leatrice Joy (born Leatrice Johanna Zeidler; November 7, 1893 – May 13, 1985) was an American actress most prolific during the silent film era. Early life Joy was born in New Orleans, Louisiana to dentist Edward Joseph Zeidler, who was o ...

Clive Brook Clifford Hardman "Clive" Brook (1 June 1887 – 17 November 1974) was an English film actor. After making his first screen appearance in 1920, Brook emerged as a leading British actor in the early 1920s. After moving to the United States ...

, and

Lilyan Tashman Lilyan Tashman (October 23, 1896 – March 21, 1934) was an American actress. Tashman was best known for her supporting roles as tongue-in-cheek villainesses or playing the vindictive "other woman". She made 66 films over the course of her ...

. The film's sets were by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Max Parker Max Parker (July 12, 1882 – July 8, 1964) was an American art director. He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the film ''George Washington Slept Here''. He worked on 86 films between 1916 and 1947. He ...

while the costumes were designed by

Adrian Adrian is a form of the Latin language, Latin given name Adrianus (given name), Adrianus or Hadrianus (disambiguation), Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria (river), Adria from the Venetic language, Venetic and ...

, later known for his work at

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

Cast

as Mary Martin Williams *

as Peter Williams *

as Narcissa Williams *

Casson Ferguson Casson Ferguson (May 29, 1891 – February 12, 1929) was an American film actor of the silent era. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1917 and 1928. His father was John J. Ferguson, a jeweler in Alexandria, Louisiana. Early in his ...

as Bertie Waring *

Toby Claude Toby Claude (born Harriette Mary Kavanagh; January 29, 1877 – October 27, 1962) was an Irish actress and singer in vaudeville, on the Broadway stage, and in silent films. Early life Harriette Mary Kavanagh was born in Dublin. Her father Ric ...

as The Maid * André Cheron as Shop Manager *

Harry Semels Harry Semels (November 20, 1887 – March 2, 1946) was an American film actor. He appeared in over 315 film between 1917 and 1946. Career Semels appeared in his first film in 1917. He began to achieve fame after arriving at Columbia Pictu ...

as Cop *

Florence Wix Florence Wix (16 May 1883 – 23 November 1956) was an English-born American character actress who worked from the 1920s in silent films through sound films of the 1950s. Biography Born on 16 May 1883, in Hertfordshire in England, Wix woul ...

as Christmas Party Guest

Production

Leatrice Joy had impulsively cut her hair short in 1926, and

Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cine ...

, whom Joy had followed when he set up

Producers Distributing Corporation Producers Distributing Corporation was a short-lived Hollywood film distribution company, organized in 1924 and dissolved in March 1927. In its brief heyday, film director Cecil B. DeMille was its primary shareholder and major talent. Corporat ...

, was publicly angry as it prevented her from portraying traditional feminine roles. The studio developed projects with roles suitable for her “Leatrice Joy

bob Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: Places * Mount Bob, New York, United States *Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname ...

”, and ''For Alimony Only'' was the fourth of five films before she regrew her hair. Despite this, a professional dispute would end the Joy / Demille partnership in 1928.

Preservation

A copy of ''For Alimony Only'' is preserved film at the

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Also a nonprofit exhibition venue, the archiv ...

.The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: ''For Alimony Only''
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References

Bibliography

*Donald W. McCaffrey & Christopher P. Jacobs. ''Guide to the Silent Years of American Cinema''. Greenwood Publishing, 1999.

External links

* * 1926 films 1926 drama films 1920s English-language films American silent feature films Silent American drama films Films directed by William C. deMille American black-and-white films Producers Distributing Corporation films 1920s American films {{1920s-silent-drama-film-stub