''Clarence'' is a 1922 American silent comedy drama, based on the 1919 play by

Booth Tarkington Newton Booth Tarkington (July 29, 1869 – May 19, 1946) was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his novels ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' (1918) and '' Alice Adams'' (1921). He is one of only four novelists to win the Pulitze ...

, produced by

Famous Players–Lasky Famous Players-Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company formed on June 28, 1916, from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company—originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays—and t ...

and distributed through

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 ...

. It was directed by

William C. deMille William Churchill deMille (July 25, 1878 – March 5, 1955), also spelled de Mille or De Mille, was an American screenwriter and film director from the silent film era through the early 1930s. He was also a noted playwright prior to moving into ...

and starred

Wallace Reid William Wallace Halleck Reid (April 15, 1891 – January 18, 1923) was an American actor in silent film, referred to as "the screen's most perfect lover". He also had a brief career as a racing driver. Early life Reid was born in St. Louis, M ...

in his penultimate screen appearance. In E.J. Fleming's 2007 biography of Wallace Reid, it is stated that many in Reid's neighborhood, including

Rudolph Valentino Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguolla (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926), known professionally as Rudolph Valentino and nicknamed The Latin Lover, was an Italian actor based in the United States who starred ...

, remembered that Reid kept the neighborhood awake playing his

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

. It is not stated whether Reid was honing his skills for this film or just enjoying some leisure. The film 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 o ...

Cast

as Clarence Smith *

Agnes Ayres Agnes Ayres (born Agnes Henkel; April 4, 1896 – December 25, 1940) was an American actress who rose to fame during the silent film era. She was known for her role as Lady Diana Mayo in '' The Sheik'' opposite Rudolph Valentino. Career Ayres b ...

as Violet Pinney *

May McAvoy May Irene McAvoy (September 8, 1899 – April 26, 1984) was an American actress who worked mainly during the silent-film era. Some of her major roles are Laura Pennington in '' The Enchanted Cottage'', Esther in '' Ben-Hur'', and Mary Dale ...

as Cora Wheeler *

Kathlyn Williams Kathlyn Williams (born Kathleen Mabel Williams, May 31, 1879 – September 23, 1960) was an American actress, known for her blonde beauty and daring antics, who performed on stage as well as in early silent film. She began her career onstage in ...

as Mrs. Wheeler *

Edward Martindel Edward Martindel (July 8, 1876 – May 4, 1955) was an American stage and film actor who appeared on Broadway and in more than 80 films between 1915 and 1946. Born in Hamilton, Ohio, he was the son of Dr. and Mrs. Frank Martindell. His s ...

as Mr. Wheeler *

Robert Agnew Robert Agnew (June 4, 1899 – November 8, 1983) was an American movie actor who worked mostly in the silent film era, making 65 films in both the silent and sound eras. He was born in Dayton, Kentucky. A review of ''The Heart of Broadway'' i ...

as Bobby Wheeler *

Adolphe Menjou Adolphe Jean Menjou (February 18, 1890 – October 29, 1963) was an American actor. His career spanned both silent films and talkies. He appeared in such films as Charlie Chaplin's ''A Woman of Paris'', where he played the lead role; Stanley Ku ...

as Hubert Stem *Bertram Johns as Dinwiddie *Dorothy Gordon as Della *

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. Martin

Plot

The father of a quirky family, the Wheelers, hires an ex-soldier, Clarence (Reid), as a handyman. Clarence falls for the family's governess, Violet (Ayres). Mrs. Wheeler (Williams) suspects that Violet and her husband (Martindel) are carrying on, and Mrs. Wheeler begins to develop an attraction to Clarence. Hubert Stem (Menjou), Mr. Wheeler's avaricious private secretary, one day shows Mr. Wheeler an article about Charles Short, an army deserter, and insists that Clarence is in actuality Charles Short.

References

External links

* *
Wallace Reid in portrait still as ''Clarence''
1922 films 1922 comedy-drama films American silent feature films Famous Players-Lasky films American films based on plays Films based on works by Booth Tarkington Films directed by William C. deMille Lost American comedy-drama films Paramount Pictures films American black-and-white films 1922 lost films 1920s American films Silent American comedy-drama films 1920s English-language films English-language comedy-drama films {{silent-comedy-drama-film-stub

Cast

Plot

See also

References

External links