''The Nutcracker'' (also written as ''The Nut-Cracker'') is a 1926 American silent

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

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 starring

Edward Everett Horton Edward Everett Horton Jr. (March 18, 1886 – September 29, 1970) was an American character actor. He had a long career in film, theater, radio, television, and voice work for animated cartoons. Early life Horton was born in Kings County ...

Mae Busch Mae Busch (born Annie May Busch; 18 June 1891 – 20 April 1946) was an Australian-born actress who worked in both silent and sound films in early Hollywood. In the latter part of her career she appeared in many Laurel and Hardy comedies, freque ...

, and

Harry Myers Harry C. Myers (September 5, 1882 – December 25, 1938) was an American film actor and director, sometimes credited as Henry Myers. He performed in many short comedy films with his wife Rosemary Theby. Myers appeared in 330 films between 1908 ...

. It was based on the 1920 novel '' The Nut Cracker'' by Frederic S. Isham.

Plot

As described in a film magazine review, Horatio Slipaway is henpecked at home by his wife Martha while in her gingham apron and abused at his office. He flees from home to escape his domineering wife and is injured by a

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

. Awakening in a hospital, he is given $500 to settle the accident case. He feigns

amnesia Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or disease,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be caused temporarily by the use ...

and, pretending he has lost all of his memory, gives his name as Pete Peters of Peru. He takes a flyer in the

stock market A stock market, equity market, or share market is the aggregation of buyers and sellers of stocks (also called shares), which represent ownership claims on businesses; these may include ''securities'' listed on a public stock exchange, as ...

when he saunters into a broker's office and cleans up by buying the lowest-quoted stock on the board and wins a fortune. Horatio takes an apartment, furnished a la Peru. He holds a reception which is attended by his wife whom he falls in love with again but keeps up his new role. Eventually his identity is discovered by his wife. Determined to make her husband "come out of it," she has him kidnapped and arranges for three surgeons to be waiting for him at his old home. Threatened with an operation to restore memory, he admits that he is Horatio. A happy reunion ensues.

Cast

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 American black-and-white films Films directed by Lloyd Ingraham Associated Exhibitors films 1920s American films {{1920s-US-film-stub