''While New York Sleeps'' is a 1920 American crime drama film produced by

Fox Film Corporation The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American Independent film production studio formed by William Fox (1879–1952) in 1915, by combining his earlier Greater New York Film Rental Company and Box Office Attractions Film C ...

and directed by

Charles Brabin Charles Brabin (April 17, 1882 – November 3, 1957) was a British-American film director. Biography Born in Liverpool, England, he was educated at St. Francis Xavier College. Brabin sailed to New York City in the early 1900s and, while hold ...

, who was the husband of actress

Theda Bara Theda Bara ( ; born Theodosia Burr Goodman; July 29, 1885 – April 7, 1955) was an American silent film and stage actress. Bara was one of the more popular actresses of the silent era and one of cinema's early sex symbols. Her femme fatal ...

. The film tells three distinct episodic stories using the same actors,

Estelle Taylor Ida Estelle Taylor (May 20, 1894 – April 15, 1958) was an American actress, singer, model, and animal rights activist. With "dark-brown, almost black hair and brown eyes," she was regarded as one of the most beautiful silent film stars of the ...

and

Marc McDermott Marcus McDermott (also credited as Marc MacDermott; 24 July 1871 – 5 January 1929) was an Australian actor who starred on Broadway and in over 180 American films from 1909 until his death.Nick Murphy at the Forgotten Australian Actors webs ...

. Long thought to be a

lost film A lost film is a feature Feature may refer to: Computing * Feature (CAD), could be a hole, pocket, or notch * Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob * Feature (software design) is an intentional distinguishing char ...

like many other Fox Film productions from this period, a copy of this movie is now in the collection of the

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Also a nonprofit exhibition venue, the ar ...

Plot

As described in a

film magazine Film periodicals combine discussion of individual films, genres and directors with in-depth considerations of the medium and the conditions of its production and reception. Their articles contrast with film reviewing in newspapers and magazines whi ...

, in the first story a suburban wife (Taylor) has married a wealthy man (Locke) in the belief that her first husband (McDermott), a cad, had been killed. While the second husband is away, her first husband appears and demands money for his silence. A struggle ensues after a burglar (Southern) enters the home to rob it, and the burglar shoots the first husband. The wife, hearing her second husband arriving in his car, takes the revolver in her hand as the burglar escapes, telling her second husband that she shot a burglar (the body of her first husband). The second episode is a recital of the

badger game The badger game is an extortion scheme or confidence trick in which the victims are tricked into compromising positions in order to make them vulnerable to blackmail. Its name is derived from the practice of badger baiting. The trick was part ...

with the vamp (Taylor), the man (McDermott), and his friend (Southern), and includes a scene depicting the Frolic at

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' was a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as ''The Ziegfeld Follies of the Ai ...

. The third episode involves a tragedy that takes place in New York's Lower East Side.

Cast

as A Wife / The Vamp / The Girl *William Locke as Her husband *

as Strange Visitor / The Man / The Paralytic *Harry Southern as Burglar / Friend / His Son *

Earl Metcalfe Earl Metcalfe (March 11, 1889 – January 26, 1928) was an American actor. Biography Born in 1889, Metcalfe appeared in the films ''The Fortune Hunter'', ''While New York Sleeps'', ''What Women Will Do'', '' White Eagle'', ''While Justice Waits' ...

as The Gangster

Reception

According to author Aubrey Solomon, this film was Fox's biggest moneymaker for the year 1920 with a profit of $192,000. While this would seem to conflict with the enormous success of Fox's '' Over the Hill to the Poorhouse'' (1920), the latter film did not achieve its largest rentals until it went into full release in 1921.Solomon, p. 54.

References

External links

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Still
at www.iheartmyart.com 1920 films American silent feature films Films directed by Charles Brabin Fox Film films 1920 crime drama films American black-and-white films 1920s rediscovered films Rediscovered American films 1920s American films Silent American crime drama films {{silent-crime-drama-film-stub