''His Picture in the Papers'' is a 1916 American silent

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

written and directed by John Emerson.

Anita Loos Corinne Anita Loos (April 26, 1888 – August 18, 1981) was an American actress, novelist, playwright and screenwriter. In 1912, she became the first female staff screenwriter in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood, when D. W. Griffith put h ...

also wrote the film's scenario. The film stars

Douglas Fairbanks Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thi ...

and

Loretta Blake Loretta Blake (April 17, 1898 – July 30, 1981) was an American film actress. She appeared in several films between 1914 and 1921. Early life Loretta Blake was born on April 17, 1898 at Akron, Ohio. She attended Saint Mary's Convent in Akron ...

and features Erich von Stroheim in a minor role.

Plot

Pete Prindle, son of Proteus, is a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...

health food manufacturer who wishes to marry Christine Cadwalader. She agrees. However, Proteus considers his son lazy, with no contributions to the company and therefore undeserving of his father's wealth. His daughters have their pictures in the newspapers, pictures of them promoting the company products. Cassius refuses to consent to his daughter's hand since he believes Pete to be lazy as well, with no real stake in his father's company. Pete tries hard to get in the newspaper: He fakes a car accident, which gets an insignificant mention in the paper. He wins a boxing match, which turns out to be an illegally run ring which ends up being raided by police. After a misunderstanding, he washes up on the shore in his pajamas after falling off a cruise ship, and proceeds to beat two police officers, his name is withheld by the newspaper. Finally, he saves many people on a train from a group of thugs intent on murdering Cassius by preventing a collision with another rail car. He receives a front-page article in every major local newspaper and a large photo as well which pleases everyone.

Cast

as Pete Prindle *

Clarence Handyside Clarence Auckland Handyside (April 28, 1854 – December 20, 1931) was an American actor. Handyside was born in 1854 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, as Clarence Auckland Handyside. Handyside's acting debut came in Canada when he was 21 years old. ...

as Proteus Prindle *Rene Boucicault as Pansy Prindle *Jean Temple as Pearl Prindle *Charles Butler as Cassius Cadwalader *

as Christine Cadwalader *Homer Hunt as Melville *Helena Rupport as Olga * Erich von Stroheim as 'Eye Patch' Thug

Production notes

The film was produced by Fine Arts Film Company for $42,599.94, and distributed by the

Triangle Film Corporation Triangle Film Corporation (also known as Triangle Motion Picture Company) was a major American motion-picture studio, founded in July 1915 in Culver City, California and terminated 7 years later in 1922. History The studio was founded in July 1 ...

. Portions of the film were shot at the Willat-Triangle Studio in

Fort Lee, New Jersey Fort Lee is a borough at the eastern border of Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated along the Hudson River atop the Palisades. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 40,191. As of the 2010 U.S. census, t ...

. Other sequences were shot in

Yonkers Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York (state), New York, after New York City and Buffalo, New York, Buffalo. The popul ...

and Atlantic City. A boxing scene featured in the film was shot at Sharkey's Athletic Club, a boxing club, on Columbus Avenue in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. This was the first Fairbanks film with a Loos scenario, and an early example of her

intertitle In films, an intertitle, also known as a title card, is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (i.e., ''inter-'') the photographed action at various points. Intertitles used to convey character dialogue are referred to as "dialo ...

style involving self-parady, sarcasm, slang, and puns. For example, one title card near the end, referring to the character Pete, said "Ain't he the REEL hero?" The titles of the film were well received and Fairbanks signed a contract to have Loos do the intertitles for his next films.

Preservation status

Prints of ''His Picture in the Papers'' are preserved in the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

George Eastman House Motion Picture Collection The George Eastman Museum Motion Picture Collection in Rochester, New York comprises about 28,000 titles, including features, shorts, documentaries, newsreels, and experimental moving images. The collection is renowned for its holdings of silent f ...

, and other archives. It was also released on DVD by Flicker Alley.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:His Picture in the Papers 1916 films 1916 comedy films Silent American comedy films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films directed by John Emerson Films shot in Atlantic City, New Jersey Films shot in Fort Lee, New Jersey Films shot in New York City Films with screenplays by Anita Loos Triangle Film Corporation films 1910s American films