''Big Brother'' 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- ...

directed by

Allan Dwan Allan Dwan (born Joseph Aloysius Dwan; April 3, 1885 – December 28, 1981) was a pioneering Canadian-born American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter. Early life Born Joseph Aloysius Dwan in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Dwan, wa ...

and written by Rex Beach and

Paul Sloane Paul Sloane (April 19, 1893 November 15, 1963) was an American screenwriter and film director who directed 26 films from 1925 to 1952, and wrote or co-wrote 35 films. His movies include ''Hearts in Dixie'' (1929) with Stepin Fetchit, ''The Wom ...

. The film stars Tom Moore, Edith Roberts,

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 ...

, Joe King, Mickey Bennett, Charles Henderson, and

Paul Panzer Paul Wolfgang Panzerbeiter (November 3, 1872 – August 16, 1958), known professionally as Paul Panzer, was a German-American silent film actor. He appeared in more than 330 films between 1905 and 1952. Biography Panzer was born in Würzburg. ...

. The film was released on December 23, 1923, by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

. ''Big Brother'' was shot at the Astoria Studios with extensive

location shooting Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. The filming location may be the same in which the story is set (for ex ...

around

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Noted at the time for its realism, it is now considered a

lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy ...

. It was

remade Bas-Lag is the fictional world in which several of English author China Miéville's novels are set. Bas-Lag is a world where both magic (referred to as "thaumaturgy") and steampunk technology exist, and is home to many intelligent races. It is in ...

as a

sound film A sound film is a motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decad ...

in 1931 as ''

Young Donovan's Kid ''Young Donovan's Kid'' is a 1931 American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code melodrama film directed by Fred Niblo, from a screenplay by J. Walter Ruben, based upon the short story, ''Big Brother'', by Rex Beach. It was a remake of a 1923 Big Brother ...

''.

Plot

As described in a film magazine review, Jimmy Donovan, gang leader in the East Side of New York City, protects Midge Murray when the latter's brother is slain. Jim decides that he must reform and bring up Midge decently. However, a court takes possession of Midge away from him. Jim, disgusted, plans a raid but then abandons the idea. His gang commits a robbery, and Jim and his girlfriend Kitty are accused of it. Jim escapes, recovers the loot and custody of Midge, and wins back the affection of Kitty.

Cast

Preservation

With no prints of ''Big Brother'' located in any film archives,The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: ''Big Brother''
/ref> it is a lost film.

References

Bibliography

* Lombardi, Frederic (2013). ''Allan Dwan and the Rise and Decline of the Hollywood Studios''. McFarland & Company .

External links

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1923 films 1920s English-language films Silent American drama films 1923 drama films Paramount Pictures films Films directed by Allan Dwan American black-and-white films Lost American films American silent feature films Films based on works by Rex Beach Films shot at Astoria Studios 1923 lost films Lost drama films 1920s American films {{1920s-silent-drama-film-stub