A Midnight Bell
1921 film
- August 1921 (1921-08)
Running time
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]
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
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
- 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
- ^ 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
Wikimedia Commons has media related to A Midnight Bell (1921 film).
- A Midnight Bell at IMDb
- A Midnight Bell at the TCM Movie Database
- Synopsis at AllMovie
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