''Three Wise Fools'' (German title: ''Ein Mädchen und drei alte Narren'') is a 1923 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

King Vidor King Wallis Vidor (; February 8, 1894 – November 1, 1982) was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter whose 67-year film-making career successfully spanned the silent and sound eras. His works are distinguished by a vivid, ...

. A print of the film exists at the

Cinematheque Royale de Belgique CINEMATEK (Dutch: Koninklijk Belgisch Filmarchief; French: Cinémathèque royale de Belgique; English: Royal Belgian Film Archive) is a film archive in Brussels, Belgium. The archive was established in 1938 under the name Royal Belgian Film Arch ...

. It showed in Germany at the Union-Theater Nollendorf, Berlin, on November 10, 1924. The cinema was built in 1913 by Joe Goldsoll, who was president of

Goldwyn Pictures Goldwyn Pictures Corporation was an American motion picture production company that operated from 1916 to 1924 when it was merged with two other production companies to form the major studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was founded on November 19, 1 ...

from 1922-1924.

Plot

Three elderly—confirmed bachelors all—are unexpectedly visited by a young woman who announces herself as the daughter of the lady that all three men had once been in love with. When the girl is falsely suspected of involvement with a robbery, the old men come to her aid and the real culprit is ultimately apprehended.

Cast

Claude Gillingwater Claude Benton Gillingwater (August 2, 1870 – November 1, 1939) was an American stage and screen actor. He first appeared on the stage then in more than 90 films between 1918 and 1939, including the Academy Award-nominated ''A Tale of Two ...

as Theodore Findley *

Eleanor Boardman Olive Eleanor Boardman (August 19, 1898 – December 12, 1991) was an American film actress of the silent era. Early life and career Olive Eleanor Boardman was born on August 19, 1898, the youngest child to George W. Boardman and Janice Merriam ...

as Rena Fairchild / Sydney Fairfield *

William H. Crane William Henry Crane (April 30, 1845March 7, 1928) was an American actor. Early years Crane was born in Leicester, Massachusetts on April 30, 1845. He grew up in Boston and graduated from Brimmer School. Career He made his first professional ap ...

as Hon. James Trumbull * Alec B. Francis as Dr. Richard Gaunt *

John St. Polis John M. St. Polis (born John Marie Sainpolis; November 24, 1873 – October 8, 1946) was an American actor. Biography St. Polis was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Before starting his film career, he made a name for himself on the Broadway ...

as John Crawshay (as John Sainpolis) *

William Haines Charles William Haines (January 2, 1900 – December 26, 1973) was an American actor and interior designer. Haines was discovered by a talent scout and signed with Goldwyn Pictures in 1922. His career gained momentum when he received favo ...

as Gordon Schuyler *

Lucien Littlefield Lucien Littlefield (August 16, 1895 – June 4, 1960) was an American actor who achieved a long career from silent films to the television era. He was noted for his versatility, playing a wide range of roles and already portraying old men befor ...

as Douglas *

ZaSu Pitts Zasu Pitts (; January 3, 1894 – June 7, 1963) was an American actress who starred in many silent dramas, including Erich von Stroheim's epic 1924 silent film ''Greed'', and comedies, transitioning successfully to mostly comedy films with the ...

as Mickey *

Martha Mattox Martha Mattox (June 19, 1879 – May 2, 1933) was an American silent film actress most notable for her role of Mammy Pleasant in the 1927 film '' The Cat and the Canary''. She also played a role in ''Torrent'' (1926). She died from a heart ...

as Saunders *

Creighton Hale Creighton Hale (born Patrick Fitzgerald; May 24, 1882 – August 9, 1965) was an Irish-American theatre, film, and television actor whose career extended more than a half-century, from the early 1900s to the end of the 1950s. Career Born in Cou ...

as Young Trumbull *

Raymond Hatton Raymond William Hatton (July 7, 1887 – October 21, 1971) was an American film actor who appeared in almost 500 motion pictures. Biography Hatton was born in Red Oak, Iowa. His physician father steered him toward a career in medicine. Howev ...

as Young Gaunt

Production

One of producer

Samuel Goldwyn Samuel Goldwyn (born Szmuel Gelbfisz; yi, שמואל געלבפֿיש; August 27, 1882 (claimed) January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer. He was best known for being the founding contributor a ...

’s many outstanding literary acquisitions, ''Three Wise Fools'' was written by playwrights Austin Strong and

Winchell Smith Winchell Smith (5 April 1871 – 10 June 1933) was an American playwright, known for big hit works such as '' Brewster's Millions'' (1906) and '' Lightnin' '' (1918). Many of his plays were made into movies. He spent freely but left a large fort ...

. Vidor approached the “prestigious property” with alacrity. He would make one more film for Samuel Goldwyn Productions, ''

Wild Oranges ''Wild Oranges'' is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by King Vidor, adapted from a story by Joseph Hergesheimer. On January 12, 2010, the film had its first home video release, on the Warner Archive DVD series. Plot When John Woolf ...

'' (1924) shortly before Goldwyn’s outfit was absorbed by

Louis B. Mayer Louis Burt Mayer (; born Lazar Meir; July 12, 1882 or 1884 or 1885 – October 29, 1957) was a Canadian-American film producer and co-founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios (MGM) in 1924. Under Mayer's management, MGM became the film industr ...

under

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

studios. ''Three Wise Fools'' is noted as an early high-profile role for the then-up and coming William Haines. Haines would later recall that he felt distracted by the top hat he wears in the film and, as a result, felt that his performance was terrible. However, his performance received positive notices in contemporary reviews, and Haines was offered a choice of four new film roles after the film's success. The other members of the movie cast also enjoyed successful careers, including Eleanor Boardman, Creighton Hale, Raymond Hatton, Zazu Pitts and Claude Gillingwater, the only cast member from the original 1918 Broadway play.

was the only cast member from the original 1918 Broadway play. It showed in Germany at the Union-Theater Nollendorf, Berlin, on November 10, 1924. The cinema was built in 1913 by Joe Goldsoll, who was president of Goldwyn Pictures from 1922-1924.

Reception

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 ...

wrote approvingly “King Vidor has reproduced the atmosphere, comedy and romance f the stageplaywith great success, and elaborated considerably on the suspense angle.” Durgnat and Simmon 1988 p. 341 MPW 14 July 1923

Footnotes

References

*Baxter, John. 1976. ''King Vidor''. Simon & Schuster, Inc. Monarch Film Studies. LOC Card Number 75-23544. * Durgnat, Raymond and Simmon, Scott. 1988. ''King Vidor, American.'' University of California Press, Berkeley.

External links

*
Film still
at silenthollywood.com {{King Vidor 1923 films 1923 drama films Silent American drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films directed by King Vidor Goldwyn Pictures films 1920s American films