The Clinging Vine | 1926 | Silent comedy

Title: The Clinging Vine | 1926 | Silent comedy Director: Paul Sloane Studio: DeMille Pictures Corporation Starring: Leatrice Joy, Tom Moore, Robert Edeson, Toby Claude, Snitz Edwards, Dell Henderson Based on: The Clinging Vine by Zelda Sears Release Date: September 6, 1926 Runtime: 71 minutes Format: Silent; black-and-white; 1.33:1; 7 reels Country: United States Language: Silent Genres: Comedy --- Chapters: 00:00:00 A.B. runs the Bancroft company 00:15:00 House-party and the “Amazon” remark 00:30:00 Grandma’s makeover lessons 00:47:00 Unveiling the clinging vine persona 01:02:00 Confrontation and corporate rescue --- Summary: Ultra-efficient executive Antoinette “A.B.” Allen manages the Bancroft paint firm with cool authority, masculine dress, and a brisk manner that unsettles the men around her. After overhearing the boss’s grandson dismiss her as an “Amazon,” A.B. accepts the tutelage of Grandma Bancroft, who remakes her appearance and teaches her the tactics of a stereotypical “clinging vine.” A.B. adopts the exaggerated feminine persona to great effect, captivating the men while still outwitting swindlers and saving the company. The comedy plays with gender performance, ultimately suggesting that A.B. can reconcile competence with charm without surrendering her agency. --- Background: Produced by Cecil B. DeMille’s DeMille Pictures and distributed by his Producers Distributing Corporation after his split from Paramount, the film was designed as a vehicle for Leatrice Joy during the period of her famous bobbed haircut, which led the studio to craft roles that suited her look. Exteriors were filmed at Mt. Lowe and Ocean Park, and the picture was photographed by Arthur C. Miller. --- Trivia: The film adapts Zelda Sears’s Broadway play The Clinging Vine, first produced in New York in December 1922. Scenario credits include Jack Jevne and Rex Taylor, with intertitles by John W. Krafft. Contemporary reviews in Photoplay and Picture Play were largely negative, describing the plot as trite and the makeover conceit as overdone. Preservation copies are held by the Library of Congress and the UCLA Film & Television Archive; the film has also been issued on DVD. The original release ran seven reels , standard 35mm at 1.33:1. --- Public Domain / Rights: Original Release: September 6, 1926 Original Studio / Distributor: DeMille Pictures Corporation / Producers Distributing Corporation Copyright Status: Public Domain Renewal: Unknown --- Hashtags: TheClingingVine LeatriceJoy SilentFilm SilentComedy ClassicCinema PublicDomain 1926 Source page: https: //commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Clinging_Vine_(1926).webm Direct media URL: https: //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/The_Clinging_Vine_%281926%29.webm