''Vanity'' is a 1927, 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

Donald Crisp Donald William Crisp (27 July 188225 May 1974) was an English film actor as well as an early producer, director and screenwriter. His career lasted from the early silent film era into the 1960s. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor ...

and starring

Leatrice Joy Leatrice Joy (born Leatrice Johanna Zeidler; November 7, 1893 – May 13, 1985) was an American actress most prolific during the silent film era. Early life Joy was born in New Orleans, Louisiana to dentist Edward Joseph Zeidler, who was o ...

. The film was written by Douglas Doty, produced by DeMille Pictures Corporation and distributed by

Producers Distributing Corporation Producers Distributing Corporation was a short-lived Hollywood film distribution company, organized in 1924 and dissolved in March 1927. In its brief heyday, film director Cecil B. DeMille was its primary shareholder and major talent. Corporat ...

Plot

Cast

as Barbara Fiske * Charles Ray as Lt. Lloyd Van Courtland * Alan Hale as 'Happy' Dan Morgan *

Mayme Kelso Mayme Kelso (February 28, 1867 – June 5, 1946) was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in more than 70 films between 1911 and 1927. She was born in Columbus, Ohio, and died in South Pasadena, California from a heart attack ...

as Mrs. Fiske *

Noble Johnson Noble Johnson (April 18, 1881 – January 9, 1978), later known as Mark Noble, was an American actor and film producer. He appeared in films such as ''The Mummy'' (1932), ''The Most Dangerous Game'' (1932), ''King Kong'' (1933) and ''Son of ...

as Bimbo, ship's cook *

Helen Lee Worthing Helen Lee Worthing (1905 - 1948) was an American actress, mostly active in the era of silent film. Early years The daughter of a prominent businessman in Boston, Worthing was born in Brookline, Massachusetts. As a teenager, she received a prize ...

as Tess Ramsay *

Louis Payne William Louis Payne (January 13, 1873 – August 14, 1953) was an American character actor of the silent and sound film eras, as well as legitimate theater. Biography Born in Pennsylvania, Payne's acting life began in the first decade of the 1 ...

as Butler

Production

Leatrice Joy had impulsively cut her hair short in 1926, and

Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cine ...

, whom Joy had followed when he set up

, was publicly angry as it prevented her from portraying traditional feminine roles. The studio developed projects with roles suitable for her “Leatrice Joy

bob Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: Places * Mount Bob, New York, United States *Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname ...

”, and ''Vanity'' was the final of five films shot before she regrew her hair. Despite this, a professional dispute would end the Joy / Demille partnership in 1928.

Preservation

A copy of ''Vanity'' is held by

The Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

.Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress, c.1978 by The American Film Institute

References

External links

* *
Lobby or window card

at silenthollywood.com * 1927 films 1927 drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films directed by Donald Crisp Producers Distributing Corporation films 1920s American films Silent American drama films 1920s English-language films {{1920s-silent-drama-film-stub