''The Deciding Kiss'' is a 1918 American
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
Tod Browning
Tod Browning (born Charles Albert Browning Jr.; July 12, 1880 – October 6, 1962) was an American film director, film actor, screenwriter, vaudeville performer, and carnival sideshow and circus entertainer. He directed a number of films of vari ...
. The film was considered 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 ...
for decades.
A print was discovered at the French archive
Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
in
Fort de Bois-d'Arcy
The Fort de Bois-d'Arcy, also called the Batterie de Bois-d'Arcy, is one of the forts constructed at the end of the 19th century to defend Paris. It is located in the commune of Bois d'Arcy in the Yvelines département of France. The fort is loc ...
.
Plot
As described in a
film magazine
Film periodicals combine discussion of individual films, genres and directors with in-depth considerations of the medium and the conditions of its production and reception. Their articles contrast with film reviewing in newspapers and magazines whi ...
, Eleanor Hamlin (Roberts), who has been living with an old and impoverished couple, is adopted by two couples, Mr. and Mrs. Sears and Beulah Page (Greenwood) and Peter Bolling (Unterkircher), young people who have read of cooperative parenting and wish to try out the theory. It works very well until Jimmy Sears (Cooley) loses control of himself under the spell of his adopted daughter's kisses. This passes, however, but then Peter falls in love with her. Beulah then tells Eleanor that she is engaged to Peter, and the heart-broken little girl goes back home. After an exhaustive search, Peter fails to find her, and he and Beulah complete their engagement. Eleanor returns, sees the true state of things, and asks God to let her be always their little girl.
Cast
*
Edith Roberts Edith Roberts may refer to:
* Edith Roberts (actress), American silent film actress
* Edith A. Roberts, American botanist
* Edith Roberts (writer) Edith Roberts may refer to:
* Edith Roberts (actress)
Edith Roberts ( – August 20, 19 ...
as Eleanor Hamlin
*
Winifred Greenwood
Winifred Greenwood (January 1, 1885 – November 23, 1961) was an American silent film actress.
Born in 1885 in Geneseo, New York, Greenwood studied to be a teacher but left New York Normal School to perform in vaudeville in the United St ...
as Beulah Page
*
Hallam Cooley
Hallam Cooley (February 8, 1895 – March 20, 1971) was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1913 and 1936. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and died in Tiburon, California.
Cooley attended Nor ...
as Jimmy Sears (credited as Hal Cooley)
*
Hans Unterkircher
Hans Unterkircher (22 August 1894 – 27 May 1971) was an Austrian stage and film actor and film director. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1916 and 1971. He was born in Graz, Austria and died in Vienna, Austria.
Selected filmograph ...
as Peter Bolling (credited as Thornton Church)
* Lottie Kruse (as Lottie Kruze)
*
Edmund Cobb
Edmund Fessenden Cobb (June 23, 1892 – August 15, 1974) was an American actor who appeared in more than 620 films between 1912 and 1966.
Biography
Cobb was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the son of William Henry Cobb and Eddie (Edmundi ...
(credited as Edwin Cobb)
*
William Courtright
William Courtright (February 10, 1848 – March 6, 1933) was an American film actor.
Early years
He was born Theodore Courtright in New Milford, Illinois, and was educated in the public schools of Ione, California. When he was 16, he ran ...
(credited as William Cartwright)
Reception
Like many American films of the time, ''The Deciding Kiss'' was subject to restrictions and cuts by
city and state film censorship boards. For example, the Chicago Board of Censors required, in Reel 4, that the kissing scene at the piano be shortened by eliminating the last half.
References
External links
*
*Kelly, Ethel M. (1917),
Turn About Eleanor', Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, on the Internet Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deciding Kiss, The
1918 films
1918 comedy films
1910s rediscovered films
Silent American comedy films
American silent feature films
American black-and-white films
Films directed by Tod Browning
Universal Pictures films
Films with screenplays by Bernard McConville
Rediscovered American films
1910s American films