''Bud's Recruit'' is a 1918 American short comedy film directed by King Vidor. A print survives at the UCLA Film and Television Archive. In February 2020, the film was shown at the

70th Berlin International Film Festival The 70th annual Berlin International Film Festival took place from 20 February to 1 March 2020. It was the first under the leadership of new Berlin Film Festival heads, business administration director Mariette Rissenbeek and artistic director C ...

, as part of a retrospective dedicated to King Vidor's career.

Cast

* Wallace Brennan as Bud Gilbert * Robert Gordon as Reggie Gilbert * Ruth Hampton as Edith *

Mildred Davis Mildred Hillary Davis (February 22, 1901The reference book ''Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory'' gives Davis's birth date as January 1, 1900.August 18, 1969) was an American actress who appeared in fifteen of Harold Lloyd's cl ...

as Edith's sister

Production

''Bud’s Recruit'' is one of ten short films written and produced by

Judge Willis Brown Willis Brown (July 31, 1881 – October 20, 1931) was a permanently removed Utah juvenile court judge, falsely-claimed lawyer, self-described humanitarian, and filmmaker. Born James Willhenry Brown in Columbus, Indiana to James W. Brown and L ...

that were directed by King Vidor. These were filmed at Boy City Film Company in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most d ...

and released by General Film Company between January and May 1918. Bud’s Recruit is unique in that it is the only film from the Judge Willis Brown series that survives. This film is the only one of the series in which Judge Willis Brown did not appear.

Theme

Brown was a Salt Lake City juvenile court judge who specialized in “rehabilitating juvenile offenders.” He based the series on his experiences operating his “Boy’s Cities” (not to be confused with Boys Town). The movies depict “inter-ethnic” city youth facing and resolving social and moral challenges constructively. Written and filmed shortly after the United States entered WWI in 1917, the ''Bud’s Recruit'' alludes to the isolationist impulses that affected recruitment efforts. The movie is pro-intervention, though Vidor presents a tough-in-check portrayal of the under-age brother (Bud) pro-enlistment enthusiasm. His chastening ultimately served to overcome his mother’s and older brothers’ resistance to supporting the war effort. His older brother (Reggie) is “Bud’s Recruit”. Durgnat and Simmon 1988 p. 24: “Bud subverts both his draft-age brother and society mother’s “peace advocacy” solationism” And p.65 and p. 69: The subject of “anti-interventionist” attitudes toward participating in the European conflict reflected a “traditional American attitude….”

Footnotes

References

*Baxter, John. 1976. ''King Vidor''. Simon & Schuster, Inc. Monarch Film Studies. LOC Card Number 75-23544. * Durgnat, Raymond and Simmon, Scott. 1988. ''King Vidor, American.'' University of California Press, Berkeley. * {{King Vidor 1918 films Films directed by King Vidor Silent American comedy films American silent short films American black-and-white films 1918 comedy films 1918 short films American comedy short films 1910s American films