''Her Wild Oat'' (1927) is a 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 ...

made by First National Pictures, directed by Marshall Neilan, and starring Colleen Moore. The screenplay was written by Gerald C. Duffy, based on a story by

Howard Irving Young Howard Irving Young (April 24, 1893 – February 24, 1952) was an American screenwriter and playwright.Marshall p.297 During the 1930s and 1940s he worked on a number of British films. Selected filmography * '' A Million A Minute'' (1916) * '' Mi ...

History

This was Moore's first film after a contract dispute between her, her husband John McCormick, and her studio First National caused the couple to suddenly leave California for New York, with the intentions of making films either with another studio or overseas. Their problems were solved and ''Her Wild Oat'' was made upon her return. Originally they had planned to make ''Synthetic Sin'', but it was necessary to complete the film quickly. ''Her Wild Oat'' was a simple story (originally racier until rewritten by Neilan to play up the comic aspects), and could be shot entirely in California (even though it is set in the New York area... palm trees can be seen in the background of the resort supposedly on the east coast) and mostly on location and using existing sets. Colleen wrote in ''Silent Star'' that her husband, a heavy drinker, had decided to re-edit the film while Colleen was on vacation. She returned to find the tops of all the gags had been removed. It was her second film directed by Marshall Neilan, the first being ''Dinty'' (1920). Marshall also produced ''Social Register'' (1934) with Moore, one of her last four films before retiring from Hollywood. The film was thought to be lost but a copy was found by Hugh Neely in the Czech National Film Archive in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

in 2001 and subsequently restored by the

Academy Film Archive The Academy Film Archive is part of the Academy Foundation, established in 1944 with the purpose of organizing and overseeing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ educational and cultural activities, including the preservation of m ...

.''Her Wild Oat'' stats at silentera.com database
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Cast

* Colleen Moore as Mary Lou Smith * Larry Kent as Philip Latour *

Hallam Cooley Hallam Cooley (February 8, 1895 – March 20, 1971) was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1913 and 1936. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and died in Tiburon, California. Cooley attended Nor ...

as Tommy Warren *

Gwen Lee Gwen Lee (born Gwendolyn Lepinski; November 12, 1904 – August 20, 1961) was an American stage and film actress. Lee began her career as a model before being discovered and signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. She was typically cast in supporting ...

as Daisy *

Martha Mattox Martha Mattox (June 19, 1879 – May 2, 1933) was an American silent film actress most notable for her role of Mammy Pleasant in the 1927 film '' The Cat and the Canary''. She also played a role in ''Torrent'' (1926). She died from a heart ...

as Dowager *

Charles Giblyn Charles Giblyn (September 6, 1871 – March 14, 1934) was an American film director and actor of the silent era. He directed nearly 100 films between 1912 and 1927. He also appeared in 23 films between 1914 and 1934. He was one of the found ...

as Duke Latour *

Julanne Johnston Julanne Johnston (May 1, 1900 – December 26, 1988) was an American silent film actress. Biography Johnston was born and educated in Indianapolis, Indiana, then her family moved to Hollywood. There she took dancing lessons at the Denishawn S ...

as Miss Whitley

References

;Notes ;Bibliography *Jeff Codori (2012), ''Colleen Moore; A Biography of the Silent Film Star''
McFarland Publishing
(Print , EBook ).

External links

* * *
Colleen Moore and the Making of ''Her Wild Oat''
{{Marshall Neilan American black-and-white films 1927 films 1927 comedy films American silent feature films First National Pictures films Films directed by Marshall Neilan 1920s rediscovered films Silent American comedy films Films with screenplays by Gerald Duffy Rediscovered American films 1920s English-language films 1920s American films