A Midnight Bell is a 1921 American silent comedy film. The film was directed and produced by its star, Charles Ray. His brother, Albert, is thought to have co-directed some scenes. The film is believed to be lost.[1]
| A Midnight Bell | |
|---|---|
_-_2.jpg) Film still originally published in the Exhibitors Herald in July 1921. | |
| Directed by | Charles Ray |
| Written by | Richard Andres (adaptation) |
| Based on | A Midnight Bell by Charles Hale Hoyt (play) |
| Produced by | Charles Ray |
| Starring | Charles Ray Doris Pawn Donald MacDonald Van Dyke Brooke |
| Cinematography | George Rizard |
| Edited by | Harry L. Decker |
| Distributed by | Associated First National Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 6,140 ft. / 6 reels/ 66 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
The film is based on a play by the same name written by Charles Hale Hoyt that premiered on Broadway in 1889 with Maude Adams in a leading role and starred Eugene Canfield as Martin Tripp.[2][1]
Director Charles Ray went on to lose his entire fortune in 1923 when he produced The Courtship of Miles Standish, which was a terrible flop at the box office. He later died in 1943 from a severe tooth infection.[3]
Plot edit
Martin Tripp is a traveling salesman who turns a struggling small-town store into a successful business. He becomes involved in a mystery involving an old church that is supposed to be haunted. Tripp is challenged to spend a night in the old building. A group of criminals, pretending to manifest supernatural phenomena, are exposed by Tripp in the end.[1][4]
Cast edit
- Charles Ray as Martin Tripp
- Donald MacDonald as Stephen Labaree
- Van Dyke Brooke as Abner Grey
- Doris Pawn as Annie Grey
- Clyde McCoy as Mac
- Jess Herring as Spike
- S.J. Bingham as 'Bull' Barton
- Bert Offord as 'Slick' Sweeney
- Monte Collins (bit part, uncredited)
References edit
- ^ a b c Soister, John T. American Silent Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Feature Films, 1913-1929. McFarland. p. 389. Web. Accessed June 24, 2015
- ^ Internet Broadway Database
- ^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 241.ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
- ^ A Midnight Bell at TCM.com
External links edit
- A Midnight Bell at IMDb
- A Midnight Bell at the TCM Movie Database
- Synopsis at AllMovie
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