''The Clever Mrs. Carfax'' is a 1917 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 Sound recording and reproduction, 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) ...
directed by
Donald Crisp
Donald William Crisp (27 July 188225 May 1974) was an English film actor as well as an early producer, director and screenwriter. His career lasted from the early silent film era into the 1960s. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor ...
and written by Gardner Hunting and
Hector Turnbull. The film features female impersonator
Julian Eltinge
Julian Eltinge (May 14, 1881 – March 7, 1941), born William Julian Dalton, was an American stage and film actor and female impersonator. After appearing in the Boston Cadets Revue at the age of ten in feminine garb, Eltinge garnered notic ...
and stars Daisy Jefferson,
Noah Beery, Sr.
Noah Nicholas Beery (January 17, 1882 – April 1, 1946) was an American actor who appeared in films from 1913 until his death in 1946. He was the older brother of Academy Award-winning actor Wallace Beery as well as the father of prominen ...
,
Rosita Marstini
Rosita Marstini (September 19, 1887 – April 24, 1948) was a French dancer, stage personality, and silent and sound film actress from Nancy, France.
Early life
Rosita Marstini was born on September 19, 1887, in Nancy, France. She marrie ...
,
Jennie Lee, and
Fred Church. The film was released on November 5, 1917, by
Paramount Pictures.
Plot
As described in a film magazine,
Billy Wise (Church) dares his friend Temple Trask (Eltinge) to dress in women's garb and take luncheon with him at the club. Trask takes up the challenge and while dressed as Mrs. Carfax meets Helen Scott (Jefferson). Helen has a sickly grandmother who is afraid that her granddaughter will take all of her money, and so she puts her trust in two crooked hirelings. Trask recognizes the grandmother's secretary as a former jailbird and, realizing the situation, accompanies Helen and her grandmother home. Without letting his identity become known, Trask as himself and later as Mrs. Carfax discovers that Helen cares for him. At the grandmother's home, he can catch the secretary and maid with negotiable securities, trying to make good their escape. He then confesses his costume ruse to Helen, who would rather have him as Trask.
Cast
*
Julian Eltinge
Julian Eltinge (May 14, 1881 – March 7, 1941), born William Julian Dalton, was an American stage and film actor and female impersonator. After appearing in the Boston Cadets Revue at the age of ten in feminine garb, Eltinge garnered notic ...
as Temple Trask / Mrs. Carfax
*
Daisy Jefferson as Helen Scott
*
Noah Beery, Sr.
Noah Nicholas Beery (January 17, 1882 – April 1, 1946) was an American actor who appeared in films from 1913 until his death in 1946. He was the older brother of Academy Award-winning actor Wallace Beery as well as the father of prominen ...
as Adrian Graw
*
Rosita Marstini
Rosita Marstini (September 19, 1887 – April 24, 1948) was a French dancer, stage personality, and silent and sound film actress from Nancy, France.
Early life
Rosita Marstini was born on September 19, 1887, in Nancy, France. She marrie ...
as Rena Varsey
*
Jennie Lee as Mrs. Mary Keyes
*
Fred Church as Billy Wise
*Mary Wise as Mrs. Bruce
*Fred De Shon as Trask's Valet
References
External links
*
*
1917 films
1910s English-language films
Silent American comedy films
1917 comedy films
Paramount Pictures films
Films directed by Donald Crisp
American black-and-white films
American silent feature films
1910s American films
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