''The Tramp Dentists'' is a 1913 American silent

short Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known as ...

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 ...

released by the newly formed Joker productions by the

Universal Film Manufacturing Company Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

. Directed by

Allen Curtis Allen Curtis (1877 – November 24, 1961), was an American film director of the silent era. He directed 278 films between 1913 and 1922. He was born in New York, New York and died in Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborh ...

, the film's cast includes Max Asher, Lee Morris, Eddie Boland Joseph Singleton and Bobby Vernon. The film is centered on two

tramp A tramp is a long-term homeless person who travels from place to place as a vagrant, traditionally walking all year round. Etymology Tramp is derived from a Middle English verb meaning to "walk with heavy footsteps" (''cf.'' modern English ''t ...

s, Dusty and Weary, who take over a dentist shop and get rich through their untrained dentistry, extracting teeth with pincers and ice tongs. After earning a large amount of money, the tramps return to their old way of life. Released on October 29, 1913, this film was the second Joker comedy. The film received some criticism for its vulgar humor. The film had a wide national release in the United States, but the film is presumed

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

Plot

Two tramps, named Dusty and Weary, awake from their slumber in a hay stock and are overcome with thirst. The two drink from a horse trough and Dusty complains of toothache. The two go to the dentist office only to be kicked out. When the dentist departs on a cruise the two tramps then pose as dentists and occupy the office and pull teeth with pincers and tongs. When the rightful owners return they drive off again. The tramps continue in their venture and quickly make a large sum of money before they desire their old way of life. The two tramps then surrender the office to its rightful owners.

Cast

* Max Asher * Lee Morris *

Eddie Boland Eddie Boland (December 27, 1885 – February 3, 1935) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 110 films between 1912 and 1937, mostly in comedic supporting roles. Among his best-known roles were "The Obliging Gentleman" in F. ...

Joseph Singleton Joseph Edward Victor Fairfield Daveran Singleton (1 March 1879 – 24 October 1946) was an actor of the silent era. An Australian, he appeared in 74 films between 1913 and 1925. He was born in Melbourne. Selected filmography * ''Shon the ...

Bobby Vernon Bobby Vernon (born Sylvion de Jardin) (March 9, 1897 – June 28, 1939) was an American comedic actor in silent films. He later became a writer and comedy supervisor at Paramount for W. C. Fields and Bing Crosby, when the sound era arrived. Blu ...

credited as Sylvion De Jardins

Production

The term "tramp dentist" refers to an unskilled individual who practices dentistry. The appearance of the word and its usage was popularized in the 1890s and often applied as a literal definition of a

, a traveling long-term homeless person, who engages in dentistry. The term was not exclusive to the United States as noted in Tracey Adams's ''A Dentist and a Gentleman: Gender and the Rise of Dentistry in Ontario'' which refers to local blacksmiths and gunsmiths who would pull teeth and even create

dentures Dentures (also known as false teeth) are prosthetic devices constructed to replace missing teeth, and are supported by the surrounding soft and hard tissues of the oral cavity. Conventional dentures are removable ( removable partial denture o ...

of questionable effectiveness and quality. The single reel film was directed by Allen Curtis and released on October 29, 1913. The film was the second release of the newly formed Joker line of comedies, following '' The Cheese Special''. The film was not heralded with as much fanfare, but records show that the film was still advertised in theaters in July 1914.

Reception

The Moving Picture World The ''Moving Picture World'' was an influential early trade journal for the American film industry, from 1907 to 1927. An industry powerhouse at its height, ''Moving Picture World'' frequently reiterated its independence from the film studios. I ...

'' reviewed the film as being a low comedy that featured "somewhat disgusting" dental humor with the extraction of teeth with pincers and ice tongs. A more direct review in response to the film's comedic antics came from a letter to the editor of ''

The Motion Picture Story Magazine ''Motion Picture'' was an American monthly fan magazine about film, published from 1911 to 1977.Fuller, Kathryn H. “Motion Picture Story Magazine and the Gendered Construction of the Movie Fan.” ''At the Picture Show: Small-Town Audiences a ...

'' which appealed the vulgar antics in the film as going to alienate members the audience and risk their continued patronage. The film had a wide national release that was shown in theaters throughout the United States. Locations included

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, Oklahoma,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, and

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

. ''The Tramp Dentists'' is presumed

, but the date of disappearance is unknown. If the film were to have survived in Universal's vaults it would have been deliberately destroyed along with the remaining copies of Universal's silent era films in 1948.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tramp Dentists, The 1913 films 1913 comedy films 1913 short films Silent American comedy films American silent short films American black-and-white films Films about dentistry Universal Pictures short films Lost American films 1913 lost films Lost comedy films 1910s American films