''Stephen Steps Out'' is a 1923 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 ...

that is notable as being the first starring role for the still teenaged

Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Douglas Elton Fairbanks Jr., (December 9, 1909 – May 7, 2000) was an American actor, producer and decorated naval officer of World War II. He is best known for starring in such films as ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1937), '' Gunga Din'' (1939) ...

Directed by

Joseph Henabery Joseph Henabery (January 15, 1888 – February 18, 1976) of Omaha, Nebraska, was a film actor, screenplay writer, and director in the United States. He is best known for his portrayal of Abraham Lincoln in D.W. Griffith's controversial 1915 sile ...

, it was based on a short story by

Richard Harding Davis Richard Harding Davis (April 18, 1864 – April 11, 1916) was an American journalist and writer of fiction and drama, known foremost as the first American war correspondent to cover the Spanish–American War, the Second Boer War, and the First ...

, "The Grand Cross of the Desert." With this film the young Fairbanks Jr. opted for a screen career despite opposition from his famous actor father,

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 ...

. "I was terribly chubby," recalled Fairbanks Jr. "Did it for the money. When my parents separated, it was hardly amicable and mother and I needed to eat. Movie companies were willing to exploit my famous name. I didn't really understand that at the time."

Plot

As described in a film magazine review, the young son of a wealthy American fails his class in history at school, so he is sent to Turkey to learn the subject firsthand on the premises. He learns that the instructor who flunked him in his exam at school is to be dismissed for it, and he intervenes and gets the school board to retain the man, having first obtained for him a decoration from the Sultan.

Cast

Preservation

With no prints of ''Stephen Steps Out'' located in any film archives, it is a

lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy o ...

.The AFI Catalog of Feature Films: ''Stephen Steps Out''
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References

External links

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at silenthollywood.com
Long poster daybill
1923 films American silent feature films Films directed by Joseph Henabery Lost American films 1923 comedy films Silent American comedy films American black-and-white films Films set in Turkey Films based on American novels 1923 lost films Lost comedy films 1920s American films {{1920s-silent-comedy-film-stub