''The Slim Princess'' is a 1920 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 ...

starring

Mabel Normand Amabel Ethelreid Normand (November 9, 1893 – February 23, 1930), better known as Mabel Normand, was an American silent film actress, screenwriter, director, and producer. She was a popular star and collaborator of Mack Sennett in their K ...

, directed by

Victor Schertzinger Victor L. Schertzinger (April 8, 1888 – October 26, 1941) was an American composer, film director, film producer, and screenwriter. His films include ''Paramount on Parade'' (co-director, 1930 in film, 1930), ''Something to Sing About (1937 fil ...

, produced by

Samuel Goldwyn Samuel Goldwyn (born Szmuel Gelbfisz; yi, שמואל געלבפֿיש; August 27, 1882 (claimed) January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer. He was best known for being the founding contributor a ...

, and written by Gerald C. Duffy based on a musical play of the same name by

Henry Blossom Henry Martyn Blossom (May 10, 1866 – March 23, 1919) was an American playwright and lyricist. Biography Born in St. Louis, Missouri, he teamed with Victor Herbert on several popular operettas. His first Broadway musical project was ''The Yank ...

and

Leslie Stuart Leslie Stuart (15 March 1863 – 27 March 1928) born Thomas Augustine Barrett was an English composer of Edwardian musical comedy Edwardian musical comedy was a form of British musical theatre that extended beyond the reign of King Edward VII ...

,Progressive Silent Film List: ''The Slim Princess''
at silentera.com which was from a story by

George Ade George Ade (February 9, 1866 – May 16, 1944) was an American writer, syndicated newspaper columnist, and playwright who gained national notoriety at the turn of the 20th century with his "Stories of the Streets and of the Town", a column that ...

. The picture is a

Goldwyn Pictures Corporation Goldwyn Pictures Corporation was an American motion picture production company that operated from 1916 to 1924 when it was merged with two other production companies to form the major studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was founded on November 19, 1 ...

production with a supporting cast featuring Hugh Thompson,

Tully Marshall Tully Marshall (born William Phillips; April 10, 1864 – March 10, 1943) was an American character actor. He had nearly a quarter century of theatrical experience before his debut film appearance in 1914 which led to a film career spanning alm ...

Russ Powell Russ Powell (September 16, 1875 – November 28, 1950) was an American film actor. He appeared in 186 films between 1915 and 1943. He was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and died in Los Angeles, California. Selected filmography * ''The Fa ...

, Lillian Sylvester, and Harry Lorraine. The cinematographer was George Webber and future director

Henry Hathaway Henry Hathaway (March 13, 1898 – February 11, 1985) was an American film director and producer. He is best known as a director of Westerns, especially starring Randolph Scott and John Wayne. He directed Gary Cooper in seven films. Backgro ...

was a 22-year-old prop boy on the set.

Plot

As described in a

film magazine Film periodicals combine discussion of individual films, genres and directors with in-depth considerations of the medium and the conditions of its production and reception. Their articles contrast with film reviewing in newspapers and magazines whi ...

, Princess Kalora (Normand) of Morovenia, a fictional country where obese women are prized and the normal-sized princess is widely regarded as being too slender, finds no suitors in the matrimonial market. Her younger sister, weighing in the neighborhood of 300 pounds and who is also the family favorite, is sought by the eligible men of the court. American millionaire Alexander Pike (Thompson) sees the princess and immediately falls in love with her, and is then hounded from the country by the police of her father. The princess is later sent to America to partake of a patent fat producer that is widely advertised, and meets Alexander at the Ambassador's ball. Their romance is interrupted when a cable calls the princess and her bodyguard back to Morovenia. Arriving at home thinner than when she left, Kalora is thrown into a dungeon. When Alexander, whose millions are no less powerful in Morovenia than in America, arrives, he convinces her father of his love for Kalora, marries the princess, thus opening the way to the altar for the second daughter, and all are happy.

Cast

as Princess Kalora * Hugh Thompson as Alexander Pike *

as Papova *

as Governor General *Lillian Sylvester as Jeneka * Harry Lorraine as Detective *Pomeroy Cannon as Counsellor

Original version

The film is a

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...

of a 1915 movie featuring Francis X. Bushman,

Ruth Stonehouse Ruth Stonehouse (September 28, 1892 – May 12, 1941) was an actress and film director during the silent film era. Her stage career started at the age of eight as a dancer in Arizona shows. Early life Ruth Stonehouse was born to James Wesley ...

, and

Wallace Beery Wallace Fitzgerald Beery (April 1, 1885 – April 15, 1949) was an American film and stage actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in ''Min and Bill'' (1930) opposite Marie Dressler, as General Director Preysing in ''Grand Hotel'' (193 ...

Preservation

It is not known whether the film currently survives, which suggests that it is 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 ...

References

External links

* *
''The Slim Princess''
at Looking for Mabel Normand {{DEFAULTSORT:Slim Princess, The 1920 films American silent feature films Silent American comedy films American black-and-white films Films directed by Victor Schertzinger Films based on American novels Goldwyn Pictures films 1920 comedy films Films with screenplays by Gerald Duffy 1920s American films