''The Nervous Wreck'' is a 1926 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 ...

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, an ...

directed by

Scott Sidney Scott Sidney (1872 – 20 July 1928), born Harry Wilbur Siggins, was an American film director. He directed 117 films between 1913 in film, 1913 and 1927 in film, 1927. He died in London, England, United Kingdom. Selected filmography Dir ...

and starring

Harrison Ford Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. His films have grossed more than $5.4billion in North America and more than $9.3billion worldwide, making him the seventh-highest-grossing actor in North America. He is the recipient o ...

Phyllis Haver Phyllis Maude Haver (January 6, 1899 – November 19, 1960) was an American actress of the silent film era. Early life Haver was born in Douglass, Kansas to James Hiram Haver (1872–1936) and Minnie Shanks Malone (1879–1949). When sh ...

and

Chester Conklin Chester Cooper Conklin (January 11, 1886 – October 11, 1971) was an early American film comedian who started at Keystone Studios as one of Mack Sennett’s Keystone Cops, often paired with Mack Swain. He appeared in a series of films with ...

.Connelly p.182 It is based on the play ''The Nervous Wreck'' by

Owen Davis Owen Gould Davis (January 29, 1874 – October 14, 1956) was an American dramatist known for writing more than 200 plays and having most produced. In 1919, he became the first elected president of the Dramatists Guild of America. He received t ...

, inspired by an earlier story ''The Wreck'' by

E.J. Rath E.J. Rath is the pseudonym of writer Edith Rathbone Jacobs Brainerd (1885 – January 28, 1922) who was assisted with many of her writing projects by her husband Chauncey Corey Brainerd (April 16, 1874 – January 28, 1922), a Washington D.C. ...

. The play later became a musical on which the 1930 film ''

Whoopee! ''Whoopee!'' is a 1928 musical comedy with a book based on Owen Davis's play, ''The Nervous Wreck.'' The musical libretto was written by William Anthony McGuire, with music by Walter Donaldson and lyrics by Gus Kahn. The musical premiered on Bro ...

'' was based and also inspired the 1944 film ''

Up in Arms ''Up in Arms'' is a 1944 musical film directed by Elliott Nugent and starring Danny Kaye and Dinah Shore. It was nominated for two Academy Awards in 1945. Plot Danny Weems works as an elevator operator in a New York Medical building, so he can b ...

''.

Synopsis

Wrongly believing himself to be suffering from a fatal illness, a

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

man sets out for

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

but stops at a

ranch A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...

for a meal on the way. There he is tricked into eloping with the daughter of the house, engaged to a local

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

. The couple are subsequently pursued by the sheriff and the girl's father, and during a series of adventures he discovers that his poor health was all in his mind.

Cast

as Henry Williams *

as Sally Morgan *

as Mort *

Mack Swain Mack Swain (born Moroni Swain; February 16, 1876 – August 25, 1935) was an early American film actor, who appeared in many of Mack Sennett’s comedies at Keystone Studios, including the Keystone Cops series. He also appeared in major fea ...

as Jerome Underwood *

Hobart Bosworth Hobart Van Zandt Bosworth (August 11, 1867 – December 30, 1943) was an American film actor, director, writer, and producer. Early life Bosworth was born on August 11, 1867, in Marietta, Ohio. His father was a sea captain in the Civil Wa ...

as Jud Morgan * Paul Nicholson as Bob Wells *

Vera Steadman Vera Steadman (June 23, 1900 – December 14, 1966) was an American film actress of the silent era. Steadman was born on June 23, 1900, in Monterey, California. Before she began working in films, Steadman was experienced as a swimmer, high ...

as Harriet Underwood * Charles K. Gerrard as Reggie De Vere *

Clarence Burton Clarence Forrest Burton (May 10, 1882 – December 2, 1933) was an American silent film actor. Biography Burton was born in Fort Lyon, in Benton County, Missouri and started in show business at the age of 5, playing stock and musical comedy ...

as Andy McNab

References

Bibliography

* Connelly, Robert B. ''The Silents: Silent Feature Films, 1910-36, Volume 40, Issue 2''. December Press, 1998. * Munden, Kenneth White. ''The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States, Part 1''. University of California Press, 1997.

External links

* 1926 films 1926 comedy films 1920s English-language films American silent feature films Silent American comedy films Films directed by Scott Sidney American black-and-white films Producers Distributing Corporation films American films based on plays 1920s American films {{1920s-US-film-stub