''The Man Who Played God'' is a 1922 American
silent drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
directed by F. Harmon Weight and written by
Forrest Halsey
Forrest Halsey (November 9, 1877 – September 30, 1949), born William Forrest Halsey, was an American author and screenwriter.
Halsey's novels included ''Fate and the Butterfly'' (1909), ''The Bawlerout'' (1912), and ''The Shadow on the He ...
. The film stars
George Arliss
George Arliss (born Augustus George Andrews; 10 April 1868 – 5 February 1946) was an English actor, author, playwright, and filmmaker who found success in the United States. He was the first British actor to win an Academy Award – which he ...
,
Ann Forrest
Ann Forrest (known also by her birth name Anna Kromann and as Ann Kroman or Ann Kornan; 14 April 1895 – 25 October 1985) was a Danish-born American actress of Hollywood's silent films.
Biography
Forrest was born 14 April 1895 in Sønderho
...
,
Ivan Simpson
Ivan F. Simpson (8 February 1875 – 12 October 1951) was a Scottish film and stage actor.
Life and career
Simpson was born on 8 February 1875 in Glasgow, Scotland, and went as a young man to New York City, where he worked for four dec ...
,
Edward Earle
Edward Earle (16 July 1882 – 15 December 1972) was a Canadian-American stage, film and television actor. In a career which lasted from the 1910s to 1966, he appeared in almost 400 films between 1914 and 1956. He was born in Toronto and died ...
, and
Effie Shannon
Effie Shannon (May 13, 1867 – July 24, 1954) was an American stage and silent screen actress.
Biography
Shannon had a 60-year career as starring performer and later character actress. She began as a child actor appearing with John McCullou ...
. The film was released on October 1, 1922, by
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 studi ...
. Considered to be 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 of ''The Man Who Played God'' was found at Gosfilmofond in Moscow.
Plot
A famous pianist (Montgomery Royle) is engaged to a quite younger woman. An accidental explosion results in him becoming deaf but he learns to read lips quite quickly. He decides to use that skill to help random people around him. However, he sees his fiancee in a park with a different man. Montgomery is heartbroken, but after she confesses the truth to him, he helps her to be secure with the new man.
Cast
*
George Arliss
George Arliss (born Augustus George Andrews; 10 April 1868 – 5 February 1946) was an English actor, author, playwright, and filmmaker who found success in the United States. He was the first British actor to win an Academy Award – which he ...
as Montgomery Royle
*
Ann Forrest
Ann Forrest (known also by her birth name Anna Kromann and as Ann Kroman or Ann Kornan; 14 April 1895 – 25 October 1985) was a Danish-born American actress of Hollywood's silent films.
Biography
Forrest was born 14 April 1895 in Sønderho
...
as Marjory Blaine
*
Ivan Simpson
Ivan F. Simpson (8 February 1875 – 12 October 1951) was a Scottish film and stage actor.
Life and career
Simpson was born on 8 February 1875 in Glasgow, Scotland, and went as a young man to New York City, where he worked for four dec ...
as Battle
*
Edward Earle
Edward Earle (16 July 1882 – 15 December 1972) was a Canadian-American stage, film and television actor. In a career which lasted from the 1910s to 1966, he appeared in almost 400 films between 1914 and 1956. He was born in Toronto and died ...
as Philip Stevens
*
Effie Shannon
Effie Shannon (May 13, 1867 – July 24, 1954) was an American stage and silent screen actress.
Biography
Shannon had a 60-year career as starring performer and later character actress. She began as a child actor appearing with John McCullou ...
as Mildred Arden
*
Miriam Battista
Miriam Battista (July 14, 1912 – December 22, 1980) was an American actress known principally for her early career as a child star in silent films. After gaining notice in Broadway theatre at the age of four, she was cast in films the same y ...
as Little Girl
*
Mickey Bennett
Michael Richard Bennett (born 27 August 1969) is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger. During his career, he made over 150 appearances in the Football League. Since his retirement from playing, Bennett has become inv ...
as Little Boy
*
Mary Astor
Mary Astor (born Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke; May 3, 1906 – September 25, 1987) was an American actress. Although her career spanned several decades, she may be best remembered for her performance as Brigid O'Shaughnessy in '' The Maltese ...
as Young Woman
*
Pierre Gendron as Young Man
*
Margaret Seddon
Margaret Seddon (November 18, 1872 – April 17, 1968) was an American stage and film actress.
Biography
She appeared in more than 100 films between 1915 and 1951. Her most memorable role was perhaps as one of The Pixilated Sisters, a come ...
as Old Woman
*John D. Walsh as Old Man
References
External links
*
1922 films
American silent feature films
American black-and-white films
1920s English-language films
United Artists films
Silent American drama films
1922 drama films
1920s rediscovered films
Rediscovered American films
1920s American films
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