Three Wise Fools (1923 film)

Three Wise Fools (German title: Ein Mädchen und drei alte Narren) is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by King Vidor.[1] A print of the film exists at the Cinematheque Royale de Belgique.[2] It showed in Germany at the Union-Theater Nollendorf, Berlin, on November 10, 1924.[3] The cinema was built in 1913 by Joe Goldsoll, who was president of Goldwyn Pictures from 1922-1924.[4]

Three Wise Fools
Directed byKing Vidor
Written byJune Mathis (scenario)
John McDermott (adaptation)
James O'Hanlon (adaptation)
Winchell Smith (play)
Austin Strong (play)
King Vidor (scenario)
StarringClaude Gillingwater
CinematographyCharles Van Enger
Distributed byGoldwyn Pictures
Release date
  • August 19, 1923 (1923-08-19)
Running time
70 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent (English intertitles)

Plot

Three elderly—confirmed bachelors all—are unexpectedly visited by a young woman who announces herself as the daughter of the lady that all three men had once been in love with. When the girl is falsely suspected of involvement with a robbery, the old men come to her aid and the real culprit is ultimately apprehended.[5]

Cast

Production

One of producer Samuel Goldwyn’s many outstanding literary acquisitions, Three Wise Fools was written by playwrights Austin Strong and Winchell Smith. Vidor approached the “prestigious property” with alacrity. He would make one more film for Samuel Goldwyn Productions, Wild Oranges (1924) shortly before Goldwyn’s outfit was absorbed by Louis B. Mayer under Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios.[6]

Three Wise Fools is noted as an early high-profile role for the then-up and coming William Haines. Haines would later recall that he felt distracted by the top hat he wears in the film and, as a result, felt that his performance was terrible. However, his performance received positive notices in contemporary reviews, and Haines was offered a choice of four new film roles after the film's success.[3] The other members of the movie cast also enjoyed successful careers, including Eleanor Boardman, Creighton Hale, Raymond Hatton, Zazu Pitts and Claude Gillingwater, the only cast member from the original 1918 Broadway play.[7][8] Claude Gillingwater was the only cast member from the original 1918 Broadway play.

It showed in Germany at the Union-Theater Nollendorf, Berlin, on November 10, 1924.[4] The cinema was built in 1913 by Joe Goldsoll, who was president of Goldwyn Pictures from 1922-1924.[5]

Reception

Moving Picture World wrote approvingly “King Vidor has reproduced the atmosphere, comedy and romance [of the stageplay] with great success, and elaborated considerably on the suspense angle.” [9]

Footnotes
  1. "Progressive Silent Film List: Three Wise Fools". Silent Era. Retrieved February 4, 2010.
  2. "Three Wise Fools". American Silent Feature Film Survival Database. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  3. Ossietzky, Carl von (2012). Schriften 1922 - 1924 (in German). Jazzybee Verlag. p. 347. ISBN 9783849624897.
  4. Lewis, Kevin; Lewis, Arnold (1988). "Include Me out: Samuel Goldwyn and Joe Godsol". Film History. Indiana University Press. 2 (2): 133–153. JSTOR 3815031.
  5. Baxter 1976, p. 18
    Durgnat and Simmon 1988 p. 340-341
  6. Baxter 1976 p. 18-19
    Durgnat and Simmon 1988 p. 26 and p. 341
  7. Baxter 1976 p. 18
  8. Mann, William J.; Wisecracker: the Life and Times of William Haines, Hollywood's First Openly Gay Star; Viking, New York, 1998; p. 67
  9. Durgnat and Simmon 1988 p. 341 MPW 14 July, 1923

References
  • Baxter, John. 1976. King Vidor. Simon & Schuster, Inc. Monarch Film Studies. LOC Card Number 75-23544.
  • Durgnat, Raymond and Simmon, Scott. 1988. King Vidor, American. University of California Press, Berkeley. ISBN 0-520-05798-8
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