Jump to content

The Wise Guy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Wise Guy
Advertisement
Directed byFrank Lloyd
Written byAdela Rogers St. Johns(adaptation)
Ada McQuillan (scenario)
George Marion, Jr.(intertitles)
Story byJules Furthman
Produced byFrank Lloyd
StarringMary Astor
James Kirkwood
Betty Compson
CinematographyNorbert Brodine
Distributed byFirst National Pictures
Release date
  • May 23, 1926(1926-05-23)
Running time
8reels(7,775 feet)
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent(Englishintertitles)

The Wise Guyis a 1926 Americansilentcrime drama filmproduced and directed byFrank Lloydand distributed throughFirst National Pictures.Jules Furthmanprovided a screen story with scenario byAdela Rogers St. Johns.Mary Astor,James Kirkwood,andBetty Compsonstar.[1]

Plot

[edit]

Cast

[edit]

Reception

[edit]

Because the Kirkwood character was a criminal posing as an evangelistic minister who performs marriage and burial ceremonies, the film was found by theNew York Board of Censorsto besacrilegiousand banned from distribution unless remade. The Board was also concerned by the number of times the name of the Deity appeared in subtitles spoken by the fake minister. First National estimated the cost of resolving the Board's issues to be an additional $50,000 above the initial cost of $175,000.[2]

Preservation

[edit]

Previously considered lost, a print ofThe Wise Guyis preserved at theNational Archives of Canada.[3][4]

References

[edit]
  1. ^Progressive Silent Film List:The Wise Guyat silentera.com
  2. ^"1st Nat'l'sWise GuyOrdered Off by N.Y. State Censors - Cost $175,000 ",Variety,83(5): 4, June 2, 1926,retrievedApril 29,2022
  3. ^The Wise Guyat Arne Andersen's Lost Film Files:First National Pictures - 1926ArchivedMarch 3, 2016, at theWayback Machine
  4. ^The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog:The Wise Guy
[edit]