The Wise Guy

The Wise Guy
The Wise Guy
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Directed by	Frank Lloyd
Written by	Adela Rogers St. Johns (adaptation); Ada McQuillan (scenario); George Marion, Jr. (intertitles)
Story by	Jules Furthman
Produced by	Frank Lloyd
Starring	Mary Astor; James Kirkwood; Betty Compson
Cinematography	Norbert Brodine
Distributed by	First National Pictures
Release date	May 23, 1926;
Running time	8 reels (7,775 feet)
Country	United States
Language	Silent (English intertitles)

The Wise Guy is a 1926 American silent crime drama film produced and directed by Frank Lloyd and distributed through First National Pictures. Jules Furthman provided a screen story with scenario by Adela Rogers St. Johns. Mary Astor, James Kirkwood, and Betty Compson star.^[1]

Plot

Cast

James Kirkwood as Guy Watson
Mary Astor as Mary
Betty Compson as Hula Kate
George F. Marion as Horace Palmer
Mary Carr as Ma Palmer
George Cooper as The Bozo

Reception

Because the Kirkwood character was a criminal posing as an evangelistic minister who performs marriage and burial ceremonies, the film was found by the New York Board of Censors to be sacrilegious and 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

Previously considered lost, a print of The Wise Guy is preserved at the National Archives of Canada.^[3]^[4]

References

^ Progressive Silent Film List: The Wise Guy at silentera.com
^ "1st Nat'l's Wise Guy Ordered Off by N.Y. State Censors - Cost $175,000", Variety, 83 (5): 4, June 2, 1926, retrieved April 29, 2022
^ The Wise Guy at Arne Andersen's Lost Film Files: First National Pictures - 1926 Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
^ The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: The Wise Guy

External links

The Wise Guy at IMDb
Lobby card at gettyimages.com
Still at silentfilmstillarchive.com

This article about a silent crime drama film is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] Progressive Silent Film List: The Wise Guy at silentera.com

[2] "1st Nat'l's Wise Guy Ordered Off by N.Y. State Censors - Cost $175,000", Variety, 83 (5): 4, June 2, 1926, retrieved April 29, 2022

[3] The Wise Guy at Arne Andersen's Lost Film Files: First National Pictures - 1926 Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine

[4] The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: The Wise Guy

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v t e The films of Frank Lloyd
1910s	The Gentleman from Indiana (1915) Jane (1915) The Reform Candidate (1915) The Tongues of Men (1916) The Call of the Cumberlands (1916) Madame la Presidente (1916) The Code of Marcia Gray (1916) David Garrick (1916) The Making of Maddalena (1916) An International Marriage (1916) The Stronger Love (1916) The Intrigue (1916) Sins of Her Parent (1916) The World and the Woman (1916) The Kingdom of Love (1917) The Price of Silence (1917) A Tale of Two Cities (1917) American Methods (1917) When a Man Sees Red (1917) Les Misérables (1917) The Heart of a Lion (1917) The Blindness of Divorce (1918) True Blue (1918) Riders of the Purple Sage (1918) The Rainbow Trail (1918) For Freedom (1918) The Man Hunter (1919) Pitfalls of a Big City (1919) The World and Its Woman (1919) The Loves of Letty (1919)
1920s	The Woman in Room 13 (1920) The Silver Horde (1920) Madame X (1920) The Great Lover (1920) A Tale of Two Worlds (1921) Roads of Destiny (1921) A Voice in the Dark (1921) The Invisible Power (1921) The Grim Comedian (1921) The Man from Lost River (1921) The Eternal Flame (1922) The Sin Flood (1922) Oliver Twist (1922) The Voice from the Minaret (1923) Within the Law (1923) Ashes of Vengeance (1923) Black Oxen (1923) The Sea Hawk (1924) The Silent Watcher (1924) Her Husband's Secret (1925) Winds of Chance (1925) The Splendid Road (1925) The Wise Guy (1926) The Eagle of the Sea (1926) Children of Divorce (1927) Adoration (1928) Weary River (1929) The Divine Lady (1929) Drag (1929) Dark Streets (1929) Young Nowheres (1929)
1930s	Son of the Gods (1930) The Way of All Men (1930) The Lash (1930) The Right of Way (1931) East Lynne (1931) The Age for Love (1931) A Passport to Hell (1932) Cavalcade (1933) Berkeley Square (1933) Hoop-La (1933) Servants' Entrance (1934) Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) Under Two Flags (1936) Maid of Salem (1937) Wells Fargo (1937) If I Were King (1938) Rulers of the Sea (1939)
1940s	The Howards of Virginia (1940) This Woman Is Mine (1941) The Lady from Cheyenne (1941) Forever and a Day (1943) Blood on the Sun (1945)
1950s	The Shanghai Story (1954) The Last Command (1955)
Productions	Saboteur (1942) The Spoilers (1942) Invisible Agent (1942)