Orchids and Ermine is a 1927

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

comedy starring

Colleen Moore Colleen Moore (born Kathleen Morrison; August 19, 1899 – January 25, 1988) was an American film actress who began her career during the silent film era. Moore became one of the most fashionable (and highly-paid) stars of the era and helped po ...

, filmed partly on location in New York. The film still exists. This was

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...

's first feature-length film (his first film being a short subject released in 1926).

Story

Set in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

flapper Flappers were a subculture of young Western women in the 1920s who wore short skirts (knee height was considered short during that period), bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptab ...

Pink Watson (

) works as a telephone operator at a cement factory and dreams of marrying rich. Her constant daydreaming of wealth annoys her fellow workers, and ruins the heart of one of her worshipping colleagues. Instead, she interviews at the De Luxe Hotel on

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...

for the job of hotel switchboard operator, and lands the position despite the large number of women soliciting. During her first day, she befriends Ermintrude De Vere (

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 ...

), and is invited to accompany her on a date with a young millionaire named Mr. Vandergriff (Brooks Benedict), who is later revealed as a scheming chauffeur at

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

. Jenkins' boss, an old millionaire, fires him and tries to flirt with the two girls. While

gold digger Gold digger is a term for a person, typically a woman, who engages in a type of transactional relationship for money rather than love. If it turns into marriage, it is a type of marriage of convenience. Etymology and usage The term "gold ...

Ermintrude is flattered by his attention, Pink reacts appalled at the age difference and walks home, for hours. While working the next day, an oil millionaire named Tabor (

Jack Mulhall John Joseph Francis Mulhall (October 7, 1887 – June 1, 1979) was an American film actor beginning in the silent film era who successfully transitioned to sound films, appearing in over 430 films in a career spanning 50 years. Early years Mu ...

) checks in and is immediately set upon by gold-diggers. He swaps places with his assistant Hank ( Sam Hardy) and poses as a chauffeur. Pink falls for Tabor without knowing of his fortunes (even though he never lied to her: it was Ermintrude who convinced Pink that the man introducing himself as Tabor was actually his assistant), while Hank gets in trouble under the identity of his employer by charming Ermintrude. Hank quickly learns the backsides of constantly being followed by numerous gold diggers. Following his shift, he helps Tabor with the techniques to seduce a lady, because Tabor has fallen in love with Pink. These tips do not prove to be helpful, noting that when Hank puts them to test with Pink himself, he gets yelled at. When Tabor tries to flirt with the same pick up lines, Pink is less than flattered and criticizes him for taking money from his 'boss', with which he bought orchids for her. Tabor then tries to reveal his true identity, but Pink does not believe him and tries to get rid of him in the mass of the New York streets. She eventually gets on a bus, thinking to have lost him, only to have him jumping on the same bus from another vehicle. Pink is still not impressed, until he gets hit on his head by a bridge and passes out. Feeling guilty, Pink takes care of him and falls in love, even though realizing that she will be a poor girl her entire life when she marries a valet. Hank, meanwhile, is taking Ermintrude out for dinner, during which she quickly tricks him into eloping with her. The following morning, Tabor, now dressed as a millionaire, asks Pink to marry him, and she (thinking he has moved up in status to a department store floorwalker) enthusiastically accepts. He then again tries to reveal his true identity and spoils his fiancé with ermine fur, as well as a wedding dress in a fancy shop. Meanwhile, the shop's owner finds a photo in the newspaper featuring 'Tabor' (Hank) and Ermintrude as newlyweds, and thinks that the real Tabor is an impostor. He alerts the police, and has Tabor arrested. Devastated by what she thinks is betrayal, Pink contacts 'Tabor' (Hank) to help her get his 'valet' (Tabor) out of jail. At court, Hank initially lies about the identity switch because he is afraid of losing Ermintrude, but admits to the truth after her departure. Pink is happily reunited with Tabor and they leave for Oklahoma.

Background

Exteriors for the film were shot on location in

, and shortly after the arrival of the troupe in the city the weather turned cold and rainy. This gives the film the distinction of being one of the first major motion pictures to show the streets of New York in the rain (the studio, making the most of a bad situation, chose to say they had ''planned'' for it to rain, and it was the ''lack'' of rain that had kept the troupe from returning to Los Angeles from New York on schedule). Cameras were placed in hidden locations so scenes could be shot with unsuspecting pedestrians, however when viewing the rushes of scenes just show, one news boy was seen staring directly into the camera in every shot; the sharp-eyed boy had noticed the hidden cameras in every instance. As was often the case in Moore's films, and was one of the major attractions of her features—the viewer was treated to the latest fashions during the course of the film.

Hedda Hopper Hedda Hopper (born Elda Furry; May 2, 1885February 1, 1966) was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, her readership was 35 million. A strong supporter of the House Un-American Activities Committ ...

had a part in the film before she became a famous columnist. A 6-year-old Joe Yule Jr. had a part of a smooth-talking midget... Joe would become famous under the name

. The film was well-reviewed."Colleen Moore Seen at Best at Grand," ''The Telegraph-Herald'', June 29, 1927, page 14.

Cast

References

Footnotes

* Colleen Moore, ''Silent Star'', Doubleday, 1968. *Jeff Codori (2012), ''Colleen Moore; A Biography of the Silent Film Star''
McFarland Publishing
(Print , EBook ). * ''Daily Illini'' (University of Illinois), January 30, 1927, page 10.

External links

* * http://silent-volume.blogspot.com/2010/04/orchids-and-ermine-1927.html * http://www.mickeyrooneyfanclub.com/orchidsermine.htm {{Alfred Santell 1927 films American silent feature films Silent American comedy films 1927 comedy films Films directed by Alfred Santell Films set in Manhattan Films set in New York City First National Pictures films American black-and-white films Flappers 1920s American films