''His Picture in the Papers'' is a 1916 American
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 ...
written and directed by
John Emerson.
Anita Loos
Corinne Anita Loos (April 26, 1888 – August 18, 1981) was an American actress, novelist, playwright and screenwriter. In 1912, she became the first female staff screenwriter in Hollywood, when D. W. Griffith put her on the payroll at Triang ...
also wrote the film's scenario. The film stars
Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thie ...
and
Loretta Blake
Loretta Blake (April 17, 1898 – July 30, 1981) was an American film actress. She appeared in several films between 1914 and 1921.
Early life
Loretta Blake was born on April 17, 1898 at Akron, Ohio. She attended Saint Mary's Convent in Akron ...
and features
Erich von Stroheim
Erich Oswald Hans Carl Maria von Stroheim (born Erich Oswald Stroheim; September 22, 1885 – May 12, 1957) was an Austrian-American director, actor and producer, most noted as a film star and avant-garde, visionary director of the silent era. H ...
in a minor role.
Plot
Pete Prindle, son of Proteus, is a
vegetarian
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter.
Vegetarianism m ...
health food manufacturer who wishes to marry Christine Cadwalader. She agrees. However, Proteus considers his son lazy, with no contributions to the company and therefore undeserving of his father's wealth. His daughters have their pictures in the newspapers, pictures of them promoting the company products. Cassius refuses to consent to his daughter's hand since he believes Pete to be lazy as well, with no real stake in his father's company. Pete tries hard to get in the newspaper: He fakes a car accident, which gets an insignificant mention in the paper. He wins a boxing match, which turns out to be an illegally run ring which ends up being raided by police.
After a misunderstanding, he washes up on the shore in his pajamas after falling off a cruise ship, and proceeds to beat two police officers, his name is withheld by the newspaper. Finally, he saves many people on a train from a group of thugs intent on murdering Cassius by preventing a collision with another rail car. He receives a front-page article in every major local newspaper and a large photo as well which pleases everyone.
Cast
*
Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thie ...
as Pete Prindle
*
Clarence Handyside
Clarence Auckland Handyside (April 28, 1854 – December 20, 1931) was an American actor.
Handyside was born in 1854 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, as Clarence Auckland Handyside.
Handyside's acting debut came in Canada when he was 21 years old. ...
as Proteus Prindle
*Rene Boucicault as Pansy Prindle
*Jean Temple as Pearl Prindle
*Charles Butler as Cassius Cadwalader
*
Loretta Blake
Loretta Blake (April 17, 1898 – July 30, 1981) was an American film actress. She appeared in several films between 1914 and 1921.
Early life
Loretta Blake was born on April 17, 1898 at Akron, Ohio. She attended Saint Mary's Convent in Akron ...
as Christine Cadwalader
*Homer Hunt as Melville
*Helena Rupport as Olga
*
Erich von Stroheim
Erich Oswald Hans Carl Maria von Stroheim (born Erich Oswald Stroheim; September 22, 1885 – May 12, 1957) was an Austrian-American director, actor and producer, most noted as a film star and avant-garde, visionary director of the silent era. H ...
as 'Eye Patch' Thug
Production notes
The film was produced by Fine Arts Film Company for $42,599.94, and distributed by the
Triangle Film Corporation
Triangle Film Corporation (also known as Triangle Motion Picture Company) was a major American motion-picture studio, founded in July 1915 in Culver City, California and terminated 7 years later in 1922.
History
The studio was founded in July 1 ...
.
Portions of the film were shot at the Willat-Triangle Studio in
Fort Lee, New Jersey
Fort Lee is a borough at the eastern border of Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated along the Hudson River atop the Palisades.
As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 40,191. As of the 2010 U.S. census, th ...
. Other sequences were shot in
Yonkers
Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as enu ...
and
Atlantic City
Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...
. A boxing scene featured in the film was shot at Sharkey's Athletic Club, a boxing club, on
Columbus Avenue in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
.
This was the first Fairbanks film with a Loos scenario, and an early example of her
intertitle
In films, an intertitle, also known as a title card, is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (i.e., ''inter-'') the photographed action at various points. Intertitles used to convey character dialogue are referred to as "dialo ...
style involving self-parady, sarcasm, slang, and puns.
For example, one title card near the end, referring to the character Pete, said "Ain't he the REEL hero?" The titles of the film were well received and Fairbanks signed a contract to have Loos do the intertitles for his next films.
Preservation status
Prints of ''His Picture in the Papers'' are preserved in the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
,
George Eastman House Motion Picture Collection
The George Eastman Museum Motion Picture Collection in Rochester, New York comprises about 28,000 titles, including features, shorts, documentaries, newsreels, and experimental moving images. The collection is renowned for its holdings of silent f ...
, and other archives. It was also released on DVD by Flicker Alley.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:His Picture in the Papers
1916 films
1916 comedy films
Silent American comedy films
American silent feature films
American black-and-white films
Films directed by John Emerson
Films shot in Atlantic City, New Jersey
Films shot in Fort Lee, New Jersey
Films shot in New York City
Films with screenplays by Anita Loos
Triangle Film Corporation films
1910s American films