''Aladdin's Other Lamp'' is a 1917 American fantasy-comedy

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

based on the play, ''The Dream Girl'' by

Willard Mack Willard Mack (September 18, 1873 – November 18, 1934) was a Canadian- American actor, director, and playwright. Life and career He was born Charles Willard McLaughlin in Morrisburg, Ontario. At an early age his family moved to Brooklyn, Ne ...

. It was adapted for the screen by

June Mathis June Mathis (born June Beulah Hughes, January 30, 1887 – July 26, 1927) was an American screenwriter. Mathis was the first female executive for Metro/MGM and at only 35, she was the highest paid executive in Hollywood. In 1926 she was voted ...

and directed by John H. Collins. The film stars

Viola Dana Viola Dana (born Virginia Flugrath; June 26, 1897 – July 3, 1987) was an American film actress who was successful during the era of silent films. She appeared in over 100 films, but was unable to make the transition to sound films. Early lif ...

and Robert Walker, and was distributed by Metro Pictures Corp., a forerunner of

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

. It is not known whether the film currently survives.

Synopsis

Patsy Smith is kidnapped by her father when she's a baby, after having a fight with Patsy's mother. When her father dies at sea, Captain Barnaby takes Patsy to a

boardinghouse A boarding house is a house (frequently a family home) in which lodgers rent one or more rooms on a nightly basis and sometimes for extended periods of weeks, months, or years. The common parts of the house are maintained, and some services, su ...

run by Mrs. Duff. Inspired by the Captain's tales of

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; , , ATU 561, 'Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with '' One Thousand and One Nights'' (often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of the original ...

, she goes on a hunt for her father's oriental lamp which Mrs. Duff has sold to a junk peddler. After finding the lamp, Patsy buys it and starts to rub it and the

Genie GEnie (General Electric Network for Information Exchange) was an online service provider, online service created by a General Electric business, GEIS (now GXS Inc., GXS), that ran from 1985 through the end of 1999. In 1994, GEnie claimed around ...

Jehaunarara appears. The genie transforms her room, restores the Captain's leg and turns Mrs. Duff into a

rag doll A rag doll is a doll made from scraps of fabric. They are one of the oldest children's toys in existence. Today, many rag dolls are commercially produced to mimic aspects of the original home-made dolls, such as simple features, soft cloth bodies, ...

. However, the genie can't reunite Patsy with her mother, because it is beyond his magic. After the genie wins first prize at a

masquerade ball A masquerade ball (or bal masqué) is a special kind of formal ball which many participants attend in costume wearing masks. (Compare the word "masque"—a formal written and sung court pageant.) Less formal " costume parties" may be a descend ...

for his attire, Patsy applauds and unwittingly causes him to disappear. Upset, Patsy throws the oriental lamp out the window and barely misses hitting her friend Harry, who wants to become a lawyer and then president. Patsy finds letters in the lamp that lead her to locating her mother, who arrives with her brother, who is now a judge. Harry now daydreams that he is president and Patsy is his first lady.

Cast

- Patricia Smith * Robert Walker - Harry Hardy *

Augustus Phillips Augustus Phillips (August 1, 1874 – September 29, 1944) was an American actor. He appeared in 134 films between 1910 and 1921. After 11 years of performing in stock theater, vision problems led Phillips to begin acting in films for the E ...

- Jehaunarana (a genie) *

Henry Hallam Henry Hallam (9 July 1777 – 21 January 1859) was an English historian. Educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, he practised as a barrister on the Oxford circuit for some years before turning to history. His major works were ''View of th ...

- Captain Barnaby *

Ricca Allen Ricca Allen (June 9, 1863 – September 13, 1949) was a Canadian-born stage and film actress. She appeared in more than 50 films between 1913 and 1941. Allen was born in Victoria, Colony of Vancouver Island to John Allen of Oakland, Califo ...

- Mrs. Duff *

Edward Elkas Edward Elkas (February 8, 1862 – December 17, 1933) was an American film actor of the silent era. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1911 and 1926. He was born in New York City. On Broadway, Elkas portrayed a headwaiter in ''A Tale of ...

- Luke Stimson *Nellie Grant - Mrs. Edmonton Smithfield *Louis B. Foley - Judge Lawrence

Background

At the time of ''Aladdin's Other Lamp'', Viola Dana was married to the director of the film, John H. Collins. He had discovered her and first brought her to work at

Edison Studios Edison Studios was an American film production organization, owned by companies controlled by inventor and entrepreneur, Thomas Edison. The studio made close to 1,200 films, as part of the Edison Manufacturing Company (1894–1911) and then Tho ...

and then later to

Metro Pictures Metro Pictures Corporation was a Film, motion picture production company founded in early 1915 in Jacksonville, Florida. It was a forerunner of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The company produced its films in New York, Los Angeles, and sometimes at le ...

Reviews and reception

Hal Erickson wrote in ''The New York Times'' that, "the popular star/director combination of Viola Dana and John H. Collins had another winner on their hands". ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' offered the opinion in 1917 that "there is no dramatic tensity icworthwhile in this film, it being one of those fantastical, fairy-changing, double exposure films that will make more of a hit with the kids than the grownups".''

The Oakland Tribune The ''Oakland Tribune'' was a daily newspaper published in Oakland, California, and a predecessor of the ''East Bay Times''. It was published by the Bay Area News Group (BANG), a subsidiary of MediaNews Group. Founded in 1874, the ''Tribune'' ro ...

'' said the film contained “delicious humor and melting pathos” and opined that Willard Mack's play, ''The Dream Girl'', “loses none of its charm by having been picturized”.

References

External links

* {{John H. Collins 1917 films American silent feature films American black-and-white films American fantasy comedy films Films directed by John H. Collins 1910s fantasy comedy films 1917 comedy films 1910s American films Silent American comedy films