Silent movies - The Reckless Age

Have you ever heard of "Floyd's of London"? I'm quite sure you haven't because it's a joke on "Lloyd's of London", the famous insurance market.
Yes, we are in the world of insurances today and you can imagine it will be an unusual one we are dealing with in "The Reckless Age" from 1924.

First, the plot (spoilers!)

Lord Allan Harrowby from London is meeting with the two top managers of Floyd's of London.
He has an unusual request. He will marry the heiress Cecilia Meyrick soon and wants to take out an insurance for $100,000 against her changing her mind.
The managers agree, but first he has to sign an agreement that there will be no compensation if the wedding is off due to his own actions. Also, they will send their risk manager Richard Minot along to Florida to make sure the wedding goes through.

They put all their trust in Dick who has never disappointed them so far and give him a token of their appreciation, a watch.
The watch is engraved on the back - and no, I have absolutely no idea if they were just too cheap to get the real watch engraved for the film or if that picture was missing in the only existing print and was replaced by this masterpiece (which is shown twice).

On the train, Dick happens to meet Cecilia. Unfortunately, it is love at first sight for him which makes the whole mission very awkward for him now.
Although Cecilia also feels attracted to Dick, she is very keen on arriving in San Marco in time for the lunch where her engagement will be announced.

When the train is held up by a pig family, Dick decides to take a "taxy" to get Cecilia to the lunch in time. The train-car chase makes for a really cool stunt which made me jump.

From that moment on, Dick has a hard time to make this wedding happen.
Cecilia is not at all sure about it anymore, she and Dick keep flirting.
Naive Lord Harrowby is befriended by con man Martin Wall.
A valuable diamond necklace is stolen right off Cecilia's neck.
 

Pushing Cecilia over to Lord Harrowby to faint.

Some other guy turns up and claims to be the real Lord Harrowby. Dick has him taken to Wall's yacht to get him out of the way.
Actress Gabrielle Rose arrives with whom the Lord used to have an affair. She threatens to sue him for breaking his marriage promise. Luckily, Dick finds proof that she had already been married at the time and isn't divorced yet.

Are you already confused? Because, you know, we are not even halfway through the movie yet.

Meanwhile, Allan has endorsed the policy to Wall for a loan of the money he thinks he needs to get rid of Gabrielle Rose. Of course, Wall sees his chance to make a lot of money if he brings the other Lord back into the game.
Cecilia's father demands identification for the wedding to take place.
Allan's reaction is to run off. It's not looking good for him. Good for Dick and Cecilia, though. Only she doesn't want to see that because she still doesn't know why Dick has done everything to push that wedding through while saying he loves her. It's quite understandable that she's mad.

And don't you know it, the Lord is back! He's in company of the Duke and Duchess of Lismore who are friends of his and also of the Meyricks.
The other Lord gets introduced and Lismore recognizes him as the former butler. Another obstacle is removed.

Martin Wall, however, is still working on his plan. He offers the local paper's editor $1,000 to put the insurance story in the next issue.
The editor thinks he can do better than that, prints the story and goes to Cecilia's father offering him to destroy the issue if he buys the paper for $20,000.
Of course, Wall isn't happy when he finds out, they start fighting, Dick arrives and joins the fight (Denny used to be a boxer and started out in boxing two-reelers), then the employees, and in the end the whole office is in shambles. When Allan and Cecilia turn up, Cecilia learns about the insurance and Dick's role in it. Obviously, the marriage is off for good now and Dick doesn't have good cards, either.

Wall tries to claim the money, but since it was Allan's fault for telling him, the policy is invalid. To top it off, a police officer turns up because they found the necklace and jewels in Wall's room, yes, he has even stolen the yacht!

Dick and Cecilia meet again when the train they're on has a problem and they go for the same "taxy". The driver can tell there's something wrong between them and drives so wildly on purpose that they keep bumping into one another - until they can't resist anymore.

I know that it sounds like a very confusing movie, but it really isn't.
Dick handles one problem after the other and Floyd's trust in him is absolutely justified because he handles them well.
Denny was a popular actor in the 20s (and still worked in film until his death beside being an engineer and inventor) which isn't surprising as he was good at romance, comedy, but also action.
He and Ruth Dwyer make this a cute little romantic comedy.
As you might know, dollar princesses absolutely existed - rich heiresses marrying into titled families who needed money. In this case, the Lord is even in love with Cecilia - that wasn't always the case with these marriages - although I'm not sure about her feelings because she falls for Dick awfully quickly.
Not even the insurance is that unusual. There is indeed an insurance company offering a "change of heart" policy, just not that shortly before the wedding date.
The only awkward bit was that there was one example of blackface with the taxi driver.

When I saw that the movie was an adaptation of the book "Love Insurance" by Earl Derr Biggers, I had just finished another book and figured why not?
Although I had only read one or two of the books and watched one or two of the movies years ago, Biggers was familiar to me as the creator of Charlie Chan. I hadn't been aware that he was a journalist and playwright as well and also wrote other successful novels before Charlie Chan.

You thought there was a lot happening in the movie?
Although the basic plot was the same, the book had even more people and twists! For some reason, the movie turned Lloyd's into Floyd's and turned Cynthia into Cecilia.
The story had been serialized in several newspapers in 1914 and was published as a book later that year. It was quite amusing to read, so much so that I put other Biggers pre-Chan books on my list, but I think reading it in installments might have made more sense to keep the whirlwind feeling down a bit. Oh well, those sleepless night.


Source:

Marc Wanamaker/Kimberly Pucci/Janice Simpson: The Reckless Age (L'età frenetica). On: Le Giornate del Cinema Muto 36, Pordenone, 30 September | 7 October 2017

Silent movies - Oh, Doctor!

"A hy-po-chon-dri-ac is a man who knows he was born to die — and spends all his life making good at it."
Welcome to "Oh, Doctor!" from 1925 with Reginald Denny (who danced so superbly in "Skinner's Dress Suit") and Mary Astor.

Here's the plot (with spoilers again this time).

Little Rufus Billop didn't have an easy arrival in this world and was not expected to live. He did, however, but with a thermometer in his mouth and shielded from everything dangerous.
As a consequence, he became a hypochondriac. A doctor suggests a sanitarium stay, but Rufus doesn't have the money - yet. The doctor suggests borrowing on the $750.000 he will inherit in three years, but Rufus is convinced no one will be crazy enough to take the risk as the money will go to charity if he dies earlier.
The doctor finds three businessmen who propose to give Rufus $100,000 now and they will get the full inheritance in three years. What a bargain!

Of course, they have Rufus checked through by several physicians beforehand, and when they find out that "Death Watch Mary" is the "patient's" first nurse, they take measures right away and hire a lovely nurse - Dolores Hicks - instead to liven him up.

For Rufus, it's love at first sight, and when he asks the maid what women like and she lets him know they like a man who's "not afraid of nothin'", he decides to become one of those.
He participates in a car race and gets out alive but not unscathed, he has a motorcycle accident and has planned much more from flying to deep sea diving.
You can imagine what his stunts do to the three loan sharks!

They are not the only ones worried, though. Miss Hicks is developing more than nursing feelings for Rufus, and not only does she want him to stop his daring ventures, but also to prevent Cinch, McIntosh, and Peck taking all his money.
So when Rufus tells her he doesn't want to be afraid more, she promises to support him, even in his plan to paint a flagpole on top of a building.

Her plan is to shock the three money lenders who see their investment in danger so much that they will sign the document a lawyer has set up for Dolores which will make the inheritance go back to Rufus.

The plan works, but only when Dolores threatens not to marry Rufus if he doesn't come down immediately.

The movie is based on the book "Oh, Doctor!" from 1923 by Harry Leon Wilson.
What makes it such a charming comedy for me is that it's funny, but not too over the top.

Reginald Denny portrays Rufus as bashful and childlike but not annoyingly whiny, and although I'm not into daredevils, it was enjoyable watching him break free from his fears.
Thanks to the glasses and the flagpole stunt, you are getting clear Harold Lloyd vibes, but it never felt like an imitation.

Mary Astor (who was only 18 at the time, would you have thought?) makes Dolores a very relatable character. Dr. Seaver tells her Rufus is a hypochondriac, so she's amused when she first meets him - I could almost hear her go tsk at him - but then finds there's more and finally falls in love with him.
I like to think that she would guide Rufus through life in the same smart and calm way she does set things straight in the film.
I also love the smile on her face when she tells him to come down off the pole. (Also - don't you love her finger waves and that cloche hat? I do and I would have looked so silly with it, sigh.)

Of course we also have the supporting cast. I don't know them (yet), but it seems all of them were known character actors.
Cinch, McIntosh, and Peck were a brilliant trio. They made me think of Ebenezer Scrooge, just funnier, for example with their individual nervous tics.
I liked Aunt Beulah as well, and the scene in which she brings in a masseuse after Rufus asks for a doctor is hilarious.
The dancing maid was a real hoot.
There's just one problem which we can't seem to avoid with films from those days, we have a - luckily short - scene with an Asian servant and embarrassing title cards. I don't know if he's in the book as well, but we wouldn't have needed him in the film.

And still, definitely a recommendation from me!


As many of the other silent movies I have watched so far I found this one on Fritzi Kramer's blog, thank you!
Fritzi Kramer: Oh, Doctor! (1925) - A Silent Film Review. On: Movies Silently, May 7, 2013

Silent movies - Skinner's Dress Suit

The notion that "clothes make the man" has been around for much longer than you might think and many famous people have talked about it.
It's also what today's movie, "Skinner's Dress Suit" from 1926, is about.

Public domain via
Wikimedia Commons

Here's the plot (spoiler alert): 

Mr. and Mrs. (Honey) Skinner, a perfectly ordinary couple living in the suburbs of New York.
Honey thinks there's nothing her husband can't do and she also thinks he deserves a raise and should ask for one.
The boss refuses. Skinner, however, doesn't have the heart to tell Honey who has already prepared a feast with a cake saying "success". She starts spending the money right away, on a dress suit for her husband and a dress for herself, so they can attend an important party.
Not knowing anyone, they feel very awkward at the party at first, but Skinner has been taught the "Savannah Shuffle" at work and passed it on to Honey by phone, so the Skinners quickly have everyone's attention by teaching them the dance.

Encouraged by his gain in social status, Skinner asks for a raise again. Unfortunately, a renewal for the firm's biggest contract with a Samuel Jackson has just fallen through. Not only is the raise denied, no, this time Skinner even gets fired by the senior and junior partner.
Just then he gets notified about his overdraft, the tailor comes to his house to take the dress suit back, and the furniture shop wants to pick up the furniture the Skinners bought.
Nevertheless, Honey and he go to the Ames affair at the Hotel Ritz, but Skinner can't forget about his problem.
Also at the Ritz but not invited are Jackson and his wife who wants nothing more than join in. Seeing Skinner, she thinks he must have a high social status and urges her husband to go and meet him.

After they enter the ballroom again, Jackson dances with Honey and Skinner with Mrs. Jackson. Jackson is so impressed that he offers Skinner a half million dollar contract which leads to the partners turning up at his house the next day and offering him a partnership in the firm.

This isn't a slapstick thigh-slapper. The most physical comedy are the dancing scenes and they are really very funny, especially the one in which Skinner teaches Honey over the phone and then gets caught by his boss, but also the part when he's dancing with Jackson's wife after hearing about the contract. I feel with her, that could be me hanging in his arms like a sack of flour. Unfortunately that particular scene was much blurrier than most of the others, but I think you get the idea.

Reginald Denny and Laura La Plante had a wonderful chemistry as the Skinners.
Skinner loves his wife and wants to do everything to make her happy and she idolizes him, so she honestly thinks he's such an asset to the firm that the bosses can't do anything but give him a raise.
Denny liked to be involved in the movies he made, in fact he was credited for several storylines and he had recommended La Plante for this movie after working with her before.
He was also responsible for the steps of the "Savannah Shuffle", a mix of "Charleston, the Gaby Glide (named after the famous dancer Gaby Deslys), and a duck waddle".

It wasn't just them who made this such a sweet and fun film.
My favorite of the supporting cast was Lucille Ward as Mrs. Jackson for the way she looked at her husband, but also the subtle flirting with Skinner.

There were not that many intertitles except a few ones that were absolutely needed or witty, yet it was not a problem at all to follow thanks to the visual quality of the scenes and the acting.
I really had fun with this one and I'm glad I found it on the same channel as "The Patsy", also with a score of jazz tunes from the time.

The film is an adaptation of the 1916 novel by Henry Irving Dodge (there is also a movie from 1917, but I couldn't find that one). "Skinner" was such a successful figure that there were several stories around him and also several films which I couldn't find, however.
I read the book and there are some differences.
Skinner doesn't get a raise, but he never gets fired. His bosses absolutely recognize the value of his work, but keep quiet about that for different reasons.
For example, Perkins, the junior partner, doesn't like his clothes. Unlike others in their neighborhood, the Skinners save as much money as they can and skimp on expenses like clothing. Honey can make over her own clothes, but Skinner's are downright shabby and it just doesn't make a good impression.
When McLaughlin and Perkins first see him in the dress suit and shortly after in a new business suit, they are afraid that the "worm will turn", and if they give Skinner a raise, won't everyone else want one, too?
They also wonder how Skinner suddenly can afford all that and why would he want to? They think it's a sign that he's speculating thanks to tips from his new friends (who might even want to lure him away from the firm!) - he's even paying more for the Pullman wagon now on his commute - and we all know where that leads ... first losses and next embezzlement!
So they come up with a cunning plan. They send Skinner to the Midwest, so they can have his accounts checked without him being around. Although they know it's hopeless because everyone else has already tried, they tell him to do his best to get Willard Jackson's account back for them.
What they don't anticipate is that Skinner actually doesn't just have new clothes now, he also has a very sharp mind and a cunning plan of his own which gets him the account and the partnership in the firm.
There's also no Jewish tailor in the book (who - not unusual for the time - is portrayed as a bit of a caricature, but we have seen worse), no note from the bank, no furniture people.
So the book is not that funny, but it allows Skinner more to grow beyond clothes and social status on his own merit's. It was a good read and I already put the other three Skinner books on my reading list.


Sources:

1. Jeffrey Vance: Skinner's Dress Suit. Essay. On: San Francisco Silent Film Festival 2022
2. Skinner's Dress Suit (1926). On: Silentfilmcalendar.org
3. Fritzi Kramer: Skinner's Dress Suit (1926) - A silent film review. On: Movies Silently, November 5, 2017
4. Laura ?: Tonight's Movie: Skinner's Dress Suit (1926) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review, On: Laura's Miscellaneous Musings, October 18, 2020