''The Ne'er-Do-Well'' is a 1916 American silent

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

crime drama film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as drama or gangster film, but al ...

directed by Colin Campbell, and starring

Wheeler Oakman Wheeler Oakman (born Vivian Eichelberger; February 21, 1890 – March 19, 1949) was an American film actor. Early years Oakman was born as Vivian Eichelberger in Washington, D.C., and educated in that city's schools—specifically Henry School ...

, Kathlyn Williams, Harry Lonsdale, Frank Clark, and Norma Nichols. It is based on the 1911 novel of the same name by

Rex Beach Rex Ellingwood Beach (September 1, 1877 – December 7, 1949) was an American novelist, playwright, and Olympic water polo player. Early life Rex Beach was born in Atwood, Michigan, and moved to Tampa, Florida, with his family where his father ...

. The film opened in Los Angeles in December 1915, and was released by V-L-S-E on March 20, 1916. Another film adaptation was later released in 1923, in which Sidney Smith reprised the role as he did in the 1916 version.

Plot

Cast

as Kirk Anthony, the Ne're-Do-Well * Kathlyn Williams as Mrs. Edith Cortlandt, a Diplomat * Harry Lonsdale as Stephen Cortlandt, Her Husband * Frank Clark as Darwin K. Anthony, Railroad Magnate * Norma Nichols as Chiquita Garavel, A Spanish Maiden *Will Machin as Weller, alias Locke * Jack McDonald as Allan Allan, an English Subject * Sidney Smith as Ramon Alfarez, Commondant of Police *

Fred Huntley Fred Huntley (29 August 1862 in London, England – 1 November 1931 in Hollywood, California) was an English silent film actor and director. Fred Huntley made his theater debut at London's Covent Garden in 1879. After years as the leading ...

as Andres Garavel * Lamar Johnstone as Runnels *

Harry De Vere Harry De Vere (February 1, 1870, New York City – October 10, 1923, Los Angeles) was an American silent film actor. He was signed by the Thanhouser Company based in New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle ( ; in ) is a Political subdivisi ...

as Detective Williams

Preservation

A print of ''The Ne'er-Do-Well'' is in the collection of the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

.''Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress'', p. 125, c.1978 by the American Film Institute

References

External links

* 1916 films 1916 adventure films 1916 crime drama films 1910s adventure drama films 1910s American films 1910s English-language films American black-and-white films American silent feature films Films based on American novels Films based on works by Rex Beach Films directed by Colin Campbell Selig Polyscope Company films Silent American adventure drama films Silent American crime drama films Surviving American silent films English-language crime drama films English-language adventure drama films {{1910s-adventure-film-stub