''One Exciting Night'' is a 1922

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

silent

mystery film A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur Detective, sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means ...

directed by D. W. Griffith. The plot revolves around a series of murders on a wealthy estate and the attempts of the cast to uncover the murderer's identity. The success of both the

Mary Roberts Rinehart Mary Roberts Rinehart (August 12, 1876September 22, 1958) was an American writer, often called the American Agatha Christie.Keating, H.R.F., ''The Bedside Companion to Crime''. New York: Mysterious Press, 1989, p. 170. Rinehart published her fir ...

and

Avery Hopwood James Avery Hopwood (May 28, 1882 – July 1, 1928) was an American playwright of the Jazz Age. He had four plays running simultaneously on Broadway in 1920. Early life Hopwood was born to James and Jule Pendergast Hopwood on May 28, 1882 ...

play ''The Bat'' (1920), as well as the 1922 stage play ''The Cat and the Canary'', led Griffith to write and produce his own variation on the theme, which in turn led to the production of similar "murder mystery/old dark house" films such as '' The Ghost Breaker'' (1922), previously filmed by C. B. DeMille in 1914, '' The Bat'' (1926) based on the 1920 play, ''

Midnight Faces ''Midnight Faces'' (1926) is a silent film starring Francis X. Bushman, Jr. and Jack Perrin. The film is an 'old dark house' murder mystery in the same genre as ''One Exciting Night (1922 film), One Exciting Night'' (1922), ''The Ghost Breaker ( ...

'' (1926), '' The Cat and the Canary'' (1927), '' The Old Dark House'' (1932) and even the fabled '' London After Midnight'' (1927) with

Lon Chaney Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and affli ...

. At the time of this film,

Henry Hull Henry Watterson Hull (October 3, 1890 – March 8, 1977) was an American character actor perhaps best known for playing the lead in Universal Pictures's ''Werewolf of London'' (1935). For most of his career, he was a lead actor on stage and a ch ...

was starring on Broadway in the stage version of

John Willard John Willard ( 1657 - August 19, 1692) was one of the people executed for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts, during the Salem witch trials. He was hanged on Gallows Hill, Salem on August 19, 1692. At the time of the first allegations of witchc ...

's '' The Cat and the Canary''.

Plot

Agnes Harrington's uncle separates her from her family in Africa when her wealthy father passes away, so that he won't have to share his brother's fortune with the child. Years later on his deathbed, he sees to it that Agnes is restored to her rightful place in society, cutting his own son John Fairfax out of the chain of inheritance in the process. John, Agnes and a number of other people gather at a social event at the famous Fairfax Estate, unaware that it is being used by a gang of bootleggers, and that a hidden treasure is concealed somewhere on the grounds. To make matters worse, a creepy madman is stalking the grounds, and one by one people start turning up dead.

Cast

Carol Dempster Carol Dempster (December 9, 1901 – February 1, 1991) was an American film actress of the silent film era. She appeared in films from 1916 to 1926, working with D. W. Griffith extensively. Early years Born in Duluth, Minnesota, Dempster was ...

as Agnes Harrington *

as John Fairfax *

Morgan Wallace Morgan Wallace (born Maier Weill, July 26, 1881 – December 12, 1953) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 120 films between 1914 and 1946, including W.C. Fields' ''It's a Gift'' (1934) Introduction by Arthur Knight where he pe ...

as J. Wilson Rockmaine * Margaret Dale as Mrs. Harrington *

Charles Emmett Mack Charles Emmett Mack (November 25, 1900 – March 17, 1927), was an American film actor during the silent film era. He appeared in 17 films between 1916 and 1927. Biography Born Charles Emmett McNerney in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to an Irish f ...

as A Guest *

Charles Croker-King Charles Harold Croker-King (30 April 1873 – 25 October 1951) was a British stage and film actor who had a career from 1920 to 1937. Biography Charles Croker-King was born 30 April 1873 in Rock Helm, Yorkshire, England England is a c ...

as The Neighbor * Porter Strong as Romeo Washington * Frank Sheridan as Detective * Frank Wunderlee as Samuel Jones * Grace Griswold as Auntie Fairfax * Irma Harrison as The Maid * Herbert Sutch as Clary Johnson * Percy Carr as The Butler

Production

''One Exciting Night'' saw an underwhelming response at test screenings. Director D. W. Griffith decided that the problem was that the film lacked the spectacular climax audiences had come to expect from his films, so he reassembled the cast and shot a new ending involving a terrifying storm, using a combination of real hurricane footage which he had shot earlier and studio footage filmed with special effects.

Home media

This film received a brief release on VHS in the 1990s. In March 2014 the film was released on all-region DVD by Alpha Video.The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: ''One Exciting Night''
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References

External links

* *

at silenthollywood.com
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{{D. W. Griffith 1922 films 1920s English-language films American silent feature films 1920s comedy horror films 1922 horror films 1920s mystery films American black-and-white films Films directed by D. W. Griffith American comedy horror films American haunted house films American mystery films Films set in country houses United Artists films 1922 comedy films 1920s American films Silent comedy-drama films Silent mystery films Silent horror films Silent American drama films Silent American comedy films