''Dance Madness'' is a 1926 American silent

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 ...

directed by

Robert Z. Leonard Robert Zigler Leonard (October 7, 1889 – August 27, 1968) was an American film director, actor, producer, and screenwriter. Biography He was born in Chicago, Illinois. At one time, he was married to silent star Mae Murray with the two formin ...

based upon a script by Frederica Sagor. The film starred

Claire Windsor Claire Windsor (born Clara Viola Cronk; April 14, 1892 – October 24, 1972) was an American film actress of the silent screen era. Early life Windsor was born Clara Viola Cronk (nicknamed "Ola") in 1892 in Marvin, Phillips County, Kansas to ...

Conrad Nagel John Conrad Nagel (March 16, 1897 – February 24, 1970) was an American film, stage, television and radio actor. He was considered a famous matinée idol and leading man of the 1920s and 1930s. He was given an Academy Honorary Award in 1940 and ...

, and

Hedda Hopper Hedda Hopper (born Elda Furry; May 2, 1885February 1, 1966) was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, her readership was 35 million. A strong supporter of the House Un-American Activities Committ ...

. According to the credited screenwriter, Frederica Sagor, ''Dance Madness'' was "patently a rewrite" of ''

The Guardsman ''The Guardsman'' is a 1931 American pre-Code film based on the play '' Testőr'' by Ferenc Molnár. It stars Alfred Lunt, Lynn Fontanne, Roland Young and ZaSu Pitts. It opens with a stage re-enactment of the final scene of Maxwell Anderson's ' ...

'', a work by

Ferenc Molnár Ferenc Molnár ( , ; born Ferenc Neumann; 12 January 18781 April 1952), often anglicized as Franz Molnar, was a Hungarian-born author, stage-director, dramatist, and poet, widely regarded as Hungary’s most celebrated and controversial play ...

that was later directly adapted for film. Sagor notes the screenplay was not written by her, but by Alice D. G. Miller, and she only provided script rewrites.

Plot

As described in a film magazine review, Roger Halladay weds May Russell, a former dancer. He becomes infatuated with Valentina, the notorious masked Russian dancer. May discovers that Valentina's husband is Strokoff, who taught her dancing. The two women unite to teach Roger a lesson. May, always masked, poses as Valentina while trying to seduce Roger and arranges to have Strokoff find them while they are embracing. Roger runs away, followed by his masked charmer until he discovers that she is his wife and they are reconciled.

Cast

as Roger Halladay *

as May Russell *

as Valentina * Douglas Gilmore as Bud *

Mario Carillo Mario Caracciolo ''dei Duchi'' di Melito (1883–1958), known professionally as Mario Carillo and in society events as Count The younger sons are not entitled to inherit the hereditary title of their father in the Nobility of Italy. They all usu ...

as Strokoff * Elmo Billings * Estelle Clark as Minor Role (uncredited) * Joyzelle Joyner as Dancer (uncredited) * Belva McKay as Minor Role (uncredited)

Preservation

''Dance Madness'' is now considered to be a

lost film A lost film is a feature Feature may refer to: Computing * Feature (CAD), could be a hole, pocket, or notch * Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob * Feature (software design) is an intentional distinguishing char ...

.Arne Andersen's - Lost Film Files (Metro-MGM - silentsaregolden.com

References

External links

* *

at silenthollywood.com * (''Dance Madness'' clip starts at 1:56) 1926 films 1926 comedy films Silent American comedy films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Lost American films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films directed by Robert Z. Leonard 1926 lost films Lost comedy films 1920s American films {{1920s-silent-comedy-film-stub