''The Jailbird'' is a 1920 American silent

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 ...

film directed by

Lloyd Ingraham Lloyd Chauncey Ingraham (November 30, 1874 – April 4, 1956) was an American film actor and director. Biography Born in Rochelle, Illinois, Ingraham appeared in more than 280 films between 1912 and 1950, as well as directing more than 100 f ...

and written by

Julien Josephson Julien Josephson (October 24, 1881 – April 14, 1959) was an American motion picture screenwriter. His career spanned between 1914 and 1943. He was a native of Roseburg, Oregon. Career Josephson was well known for his early silent movie ...

. The film stars

Douglas MacLean Charles Douglas MacLean (January 10, 1890 – July 9, 1967) was an American stage and silent film actor who later worked as a producer and screenwriter in the sound era. Early life and stage career Born in Philadelphia, MacLean was educated at ...

Doris May Doris May (born Helen Garrett; October 15, 1902 – May 12, 1984), was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in 29 films between 1917 and 1927, generally as a leading lady. Most of her roles were in western film, westerns and come ...

, Louis Morrison,

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 ...

Wilbur Higby Wilbur Higby (August 21, 1867 – December 1, 1934) was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in more than 70 films between 1914 and 1934. Stage In the mid-1890s, Higby was a member of the stock company of the Grand Opera House ...

, and

Otto Hoffman Otto F. Hoffman (May 2, 1879 – June 23, 1944) was an American film actor. He appeared in almost 200 films between 1915 and 1944. He was born in New York City and died in Los Angeles, California, from lung cancer. Hoffman's Broadway credit ...

. The film was released on October 10, 1920, by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

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 ...

, Shakespeare Clancy (MacLean), adroit in the art of opening safes, escapes from prison when his term still has six months to run and returns with 'Skeeter' Burns (Morrison), a friend who has just finished his sentence, to Dodson, Kansas, where Shakespeare has inherited a run-down newspaper and some worthless real estate. His first issue of the newspaper antagonizes the people of the town, and he promotes an oil stock scheme to get their money, setting up a well on his property. After he has collected money from practically all of the town residents, he prepares for his getaway only to find that Alice Whitney (May), a young woman he has come to love, owns two thousand dollars of the worthless stock. An unexpected gusher from the well on his property paves the way for a happy ending, with Shakespeare returning to prison to complete his interrupted sentence.

Cast

as Shakespeare Clancy *

as Alice Whitney *Louis Morrison as 'Skeeter' Burns *

as Noah Gibbs *

as Joel Harvey *

as Elkemah Pardee *

Monte Collins Monte Collins (also credited as Monty Collins; December 3, 1898 – June 1, 1951) was an American film actor and screenwriter. He appeared in more than 160 films between 1920 and 1948. He also wrote for 32 films between 1930 and 1951. Career ...

as Asa Grider *

Bert Woodruff William Herbert "Bert" Woodruff (April 29, 1856 – June 14, 1934) was an American actor of the silent era. Woodruff was born in Peoria, Illinois, and was the son of Mrs. Hannah Woodruff. He performed on stage before he began acting on fi ...

as Grandpa Binney *

Edith Yorke Edith Yorke (born Edith Murgatroyd; 23 December 1867 – 28 July 1934) was an English actress. She appeared in more than 60 films between 1919 and 1933. Biography Yorke was born in Derby; her family later moved to Croydon, Surrey. Edith re ...

as Mrs. Whitney * Joseph Hazelton as Alva Finch

Preservation status

A copy of ''The Jailbird'' is preserved in the Library of Congress collection.Progressive Silent Film List: ''The Jailbird''
at silentera.com

References

External links

* 1920 films 1920s English-language films Silent American comedy films 1920 comedy films Paramount Pictures films Films directed by Lloyd Ingraham American black-and-white films American silent feature films 1920s American films {{1920s-silent-comedy-film-stub