''Pudd'nhead Wilson'' is a
lost
Lost may refer to getting lost, or to:
Geography
*Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland
* Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US
History
*Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
1916 American
comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
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 ...
directed by
Frank Reicher
Frank Reicher (born Franz Reicher; December 2, 1875 – January 19, 1965) was a German-born American actor, director and producer. He is best known for playing Captain Englehorn in the 1933 film ''King Kong''.
Early life
Reicher was born in Mu ...
and written by
Margaret Turnbull
Margaret Carol "Maggie" Turnbull (born 1975) is an American astronomer and astrobiologist. She received her PhD in Astronomy from the University of Arizona in 2004. Turnbull is an authority on star systems which may have habitable planets, so ...
. The film stars
Theodore Roberts
Theodore Roberts (October 8, 1861 – December 14, 1928) was an American film and stage actor.
Early life
Roberts was born in San Francisco, California. He was a cousin of the stage actress Florence Roberts. His choice of a career disapp ...
,
Alan Hale, Sr.
Alan Hale Sr. (born Rufus Edward Mackahan; February 10, 1892 – January 22, 1950) was an American actor and director. He is best remembered for his many character roles, in particular as a frequent sidekick of Errol Flynn, as well as f ...
,
Thomas Meighan
Thomas Meighan (April 9, 1879 – July 8, 1936) was an American actor of silent films and early talkies. He played several leading-man roles opposite popular actresses of the day, including Mary Pickford and Gloria Swanson. At one point he comm ...
,
Florence Dagmar
Florence Dagmar Oberg (October 22, 1895 – May 7, 1986) was an American silent film actress. She had several leading roles and worked for the Famous Players-Lasky film company, appearing at least twice with Thomas Meighan and Victor Moore whil ...
,
Jane Wolfe
Sarah Jane Wolfe (March 21, 1875 – March 29, 1958) was an American silent film character actress who is considered an important female figure in magick. She was a friend and a colleague of Aleister Crowley and a founding member of Agape Lodg ...
and
Ernest Joy
Ernest C. Joy (January 20, 1878 – February 12, 1924) was an American stage and film actor of the silent era. He appeared in 76 films between 1911 and 1920.
Selected filmography
* '' Article 47, L (1913)
* '' Salomy Jane'' (1914)
* '' ...
. The film was released on January 31, 1916, by
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
.
Plot
The film revolves around a
murder mystery
Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...
. The story takes place in the mid 19th century. A
biracial nurse named Roxy (Jane Wolff) swaps her son with her master's son. That son grows up as Tom Driscoll, while the real Tom grows up as the slave known as Chambers. Rowena Cooper comes from the North and falls in love with Chambers. Chambers is accused of murder and the eccentric lawyer Pudd'nhead Wilson looks for details. He uses
fingerprint
A fingerprint is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. The recovery of partial fingerprints from a crime scene is an important method of forensic science. Moisture and grease on a finger result in fingerprints on surfac ...
s to uncover the real killer, but during his investigation he figures out Chambers and Tom were switched as infants.
Cast
*
Theodore Roberts
Theodore Roberts (October 8, 1861 – December 14, 1928) was an American film and stage actor.
Early life
Roberts was born in San Francisco, California. He was a cousin of the stage actress Florence Roberts. His choice of a career disapp ...
as Pudd'nhead Wilson
*
Alan Hale, Sr.
Alan Hale Sr. (born Rufus Edward Mackahan; February 10, 1892 – January 22, 1950) was an American actor and director. He is best remembered for his many character roles, in particular as a frequent sidekick of Errol Flynn, as well as f ...
as Tom Driscoll
*
Thomas Meighan
Thomas Meighan (April 9, 1879 – July 8, 1936) was an American actor of silent films and early talkies. He played several leading-man roles opposite popular actresses of the day, including Mary Pickford and Gloria Swanson. At one point he comm ...
as Chambers
*
Florence Dagmar
Florence Dagmar Oberg (October 22, 1895 – May 7, 1986) was an American silent film actress. She had several leading roles and worked for the Famous Players-Lasky film company, appearing at least twice with Thomas Meighan and Victor Moore whil ...
as Rowena Cooper
*
Jane Wolfe
Sarah Jane Wolfe (March 21, 1875 – March 29, 1958) was an American silent film character actress who is considered an important female figure in magick. She was a friend and a colleague of Aleister Crowley and a founding member of Agape Lodg ...
as Roxy
*
Ernest Joy
Ernest C. Joy (January 20, 1878 – February 12, 1924) was an American stage and film actor of the silent era. He appeared in 76 films between 1911 and 1920.
Selected filmography
* '' Article 47, L (1913)
* '' Salomy Jane'' (1914)
* '' ...
as Judge Driscoll
*Gertrude Kellar as Mrs. Driscoll
References
External links
*
1916 films
1910s English-language films
Silent American comedy films
1916 comedy films
Paramount Pictures films
Lost American films
Films based on works by Mark Twain
American black-and-white films
American silent feature films
Films based on American novels
1916 lost films
Lost comedy films
Films directed by Frank Reicher
1910s American films
{{1910s-comedy-film-stub