''That Royle Girl'' is a 1925 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 ...

directed by D. W. Griffith and released by Paramount Pictures. The film was based on the novel of the same name by

Edwin Balmer Edwin Balmer (July 26, 1883 – March 21, 1959) was an American science fiction and mystery writer. Biography Balmer was born in Chicago to Helen Clark (Pratt) and Thomas Balmer. In 1909, he married Katharine MacHarg, sister of the writer Wil ...

, and starred

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 ...

, W. C. Fields and Harrison Ford. It is now considered

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 ...

Plot

As described in a film magazine review and other references, a poor

mannequin A mannequin (also called a dummy, lay figure, or dress form) is a doll, often articulated, used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, window dressers and others, especially to display or fit clothing and show off different fabrics and textiles. P ...

from the slums of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

fancies she is in love with a jazz music composer and orchestra leader who is married but does not live with his wife. One night his wife is murdered and the modiste’s assistant is held as a material witness because she is known to have been friendly with the musician. After he is improperly convicted and sentenced to death for murder, she succeeds in clearing him just as he is to be hanged. Only then does she learn that she loves the district attorney who secured the conviction. Her love of him is reciprocated.

Cast

Production

This film, along with '' Sally of the Sawdust'', marked Griffith's return to working for an important Hollywood studio like Paramount Pictures, something he had not experienced since leaving Biograph in 1914, though his independently produced features were released through Triangle, Paramount, and United Artists. He also had to work with a tight shooting script as Paramount executives Adolph Zukor and Jesse L. Lasky insisted the film be brought on schedule and on budget. Griffith had been a founding partner in

Triangle Studios Triangle Studios is a mid-sized computer game development company based in Leeuwarden, Netherlands, founded in 2005. It has developed several games for the PC, the Nintendo DS and iOS. On March 2, 2010, the company opened a new branch office in D ...

in 1915 and

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...

in 1919, and these ventures allowed him leeway in the way he made films. However, now the leisurely approach to filmmaking Griffith had enjoyed at his own

Mamaroneck Mamaroneck ( ) is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 31,758 at the 2020 United States census over 29,156 at the 2010 census. There are two villages contained within the town: Larchmont and the Village of M ...

, Long Island, New York studio was gone. Griffith had been for all intents and purposes an independent producer since leaving Biograph. Griffith shot ''That Royle Girl'' on locations across Chicago. The film's climactic sequence, a devastating

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...

, was filmed on a football field at Paramount's Astoria Studio in

Queens, New York Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, where Griffith created a fully built village. Griffith used the power of 24 airplane propellers to recreate the wreckage and ruin of the tornado's fury. While the production was underway, Griffith added W. C. Fields to the cast for a comedy relief supporting role as the heroine's inebriated stepfather.

Preservation

No print of ''That Royle Girl'' is known to exist. In 1980, the American Film Institute included this title among its list of the “Ten Most Wanted” lost films of all time.Thomson, Frank. “Lost Films: Important Movies That Disappeared,” page xiv. Citadel Press, 1996.

References

External links