''The Cohens and Kellys'' is a 1926 American silent comedy film directed by Harry A. Pollard and starring Charles Murray, George Sidney, Kate Price, and

Jason Robards Sr. Jason Nelson Robards (December 31, 1892 – April 4, 1963) was an American stage and screen actor, and the father of Oscar-winning actor Jason Robards Jr. Robards appeared in many films, initially as a leading man, then in character roles an ...

The film is the first of the ''Cohens and Kellys'' film serials. The film is perhaps best known today as the subject of ''

Nichols v. Universal Pictures Corp. ''Nichols v. Universal Pictures Corporation'', 45 F.2d 119 ( 2d Cir. 1930), was a United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit case on copyright infringement by non-literal copying of a dramatic work. The Court held that copyright protect ...

'', a copyright infringement case, in which Judge Learned Hand articulated the doctrine that copyright protection does not cover the characteristics of stock characters in a story.

Plot

As articulated in the ''Nichols'' case, The Cohens and the Kellys (SAYRE 13915)

The characters were similar to those in the Nichols play, '' Abie's Irish Rose'' which was made into a film in 1928 and in 1946.

Cast

Preservation status

In addition to a worn Universal Show-at-Home copy, the film exists in two film archives, Cinematheque Royale de Belgique in Brussels and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. An excellent print with French and Dutch intertitles, with English ones apparently overlaid, was screened on April 20, 2016, at the

Museum of Jewish Heritage A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

in Manhattan. As French and Dutch are the official languages of bi-lingual Belgium, this undoubtedly was the print just referenced in an archive.

Related films

''The Cohens and Kellys'' was the first in a series of films featuring characters from the Cohen and Kelly families. It was followed by '' The Cohens and the Kellys in Paris'' (1928), '' The Cohens and Kellys in Atlantic City'' (1929), '' The Cohens and the Kellys in Scotland'' (1930), '' The Cohens and the Kellys in Africa'' (1930), '' The Cohens and Kellys in Hollywood'' (1932), and '' The Cohens and Kellys in Trouble'' (1933). It was an early production of Edward Small.

References

External links

* * * *
Lobby poster
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohens and Kellys, The 1926 films 1926 comedy films Silent American comedy films American black-and-white films 1920s English-language films Films about feuds Films set in New York (state) Universal Pictures films Films directed by Harry A. Pollard Films produced by Edward Small American silent feature films 1920s American films