''The Play Girl'' is a 1928 American silent

romantic comedy film Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Romantic comedy e ...

directed by

Arthur Rosson Arthur Henry Rosson (24 August 1886 – 17 June 1960) was an English film director. From 1917 to 1948, Rosson directed 61 feature films (including co-direction of '' Red River''). He also worked on many major films as a second unit director unti ...

and starring Madge Bellamy,

Johnny Mack Brown John Brown (September 1, 1904 – November 14, 1974) was an American college football player and film actor billed as John Mack Brown at the height of his screen career. He acted and starred mainly in Western films. Early life Born and raised ...

, and

Walter McGrail Walter B. McGrail (October 19, 1888 – March 19, 1970) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 150 films between 1916 and 1951. Besides feature films, he appeared in ''The Scarlet Runner'', a 12-chapter serial. McGrail was born in ...

Plot summary

When Madge, a clerk in a flower shop, is sent to a bachelor's apartment to deliver and arrange a bouquet, she discovers a guest, young and handsome Bradley Lane, taking a bath. She loses her job and becomes a playgirl until Bradley, her true love, asks her to marry him.

Cast

* Madge Bellamy as Madge Norton *

as Bradley Lane *

as David Courtney *

Lionel Belmore Lionel Belmore (12 May 1867 – 30 January 1953) was an English character actor and director on stage for more than a quarter of a century. Life and career Onstage, Belmore appeared with Wilson Barrett, Sir Henry Irving, William Faversham, Lil ...

as The Greek Florist *

Anita Garvin Anita Garvin (born Anna Frances Garvin; February 11, 1906 – July 7, 1994) was an American stage performer and film actress who worked in both the silent and sound eras."California Death Index, 1940-1997", Anita Garvin Stanley, February 11, 19 ...

as Millie *

Thelma Hill Thelma Hill (born Thelma Hillerman; December 12, 1906 – May 11, 1938) was an American silent screen comedian and one of the Sennett Bathing Beauties. Early life Hill was born Thelma Hillerman on December 12, 1906, in Emporia, Kansas. He ...

as The Salesgirl *

Harry Tenbrook Harry Tenbrook (born Henry Olaf Hansen, 9 October 1887 – 4 September 1960) was a Norwegian-American film actor. Biography Henry Olaf Hansen was born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway. His family migrated to the United States in 1892. ...

as The Chauffeur *

Mae Madison Mae Madison (born Mariska Megyzsi, September 17, 1915November 1, 2004) was an American film actress. She was born in Los Angeles, California. Her parents were from Hungary. Madison started out as a dancer in the late 1920s. She signed a contra ...

as Flapper *

Bertram Marburgh Bertram Marburgh (May 17, 1875 – August 22, 1956) was an American stage and film actor. Rainey p.67 He appeared as a character actor in around thirty five films between 1915 and 1945. Selected filmography * ''After Dark'' (1915) * ''The Stolen ...

as Socialite

Production

The film was marred by two deaths of crew members over a period of about two weeks. Studio electrician Thomas Rafferty was killed in a fall, and cinematographer Rudolph Bergquist died in an automobile accident on

Santa Monica Boulevard Santa Monica Boulevard is a major west–east thoroughfare in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It runs from Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica near the Pacific Ocean to Sunset Boulevard at Sunset Junction in Los Angeles. It passes t ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

while driving a studio car.

Preservation

With no prints of ''The Play Girl'' located in any film archives,Library of Congress / FIAF American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: ''The Play Girl''
/ref> it is a

lost film A lost film is a feature film, feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. ...

References

Bibliography

* Solomon, Aubrey. ''The Fox Film Corporation, 1915-1935: A History and Filmography''. McFarland, 2011.

External links

* * * 1928 films 1928 romantic comedy films Films directed by Arthur Rosson American silent feature films Fox Film films American black-and-white films 1920s English-language films 1920s American films English-language romantic comedy films Silent American romantic comedy films {{silent-film-stub