''Cameo Kirby'' is a 1923 American silent

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...

which starred John Gilbert and Gertrude Olmstead and featured

Jean Arthur Jean Arthur (born Gladys Georgianna Greene; October 17, 1900 – June 19, 1991) was an American film and theater actress whose career began in silent films in the early 1920s and lasted until the early 1950s. Arthur had feature roles in three F ...

in her onscreen debut. It was Ford's first film credited as John Ford instead of Jack Ford. The film is based on a 1908 play by

Booth Tarkington Newton Booth Tarkington (July 29, 1869 – May 19, 1946) was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his novels ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' (1918) and ''Alice Adams (novel), Alice Adams'' (1921). He is one of only four novelists to w ...

and

Harry Leon Wilson Harry Leon Wilson (May 1, 1867 – June 28, 1939) was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his novels ''Ruggles of Red Gap'' and ''Merton of the Movies (novel), Merton of the Movies''. Another of his works, ''Bunker Bean'', helped p ...

. The story had been filmed as a silent before in 1914 with

Dustin Farnum Dustin Lancy Farnum (May 27, 1874 – July 3, 1929) was an American singer, dancer, and actor on the stage and in silent films. Although he played a wide variety of roles, he tended toward westerns and became one of the bigger stars of the genre ...

, who had originated the role on Broadway in 1909. The film was remade as a talking musical film in 1930.

Plot

Cast

Preservation

Prints of ''Cameo Kirby'' are maintained in the

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the film preservation, preservation, film studies, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). As a nonpro ...

and at the Cinemateca Portuguesa (Portuguese Film Archive), in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

References

External links

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Cameo Kirby
at Virtual History 1923 films 1923 drama films 1920s American films 1920s English-language films American black-and-white films American silent feature films American films about gambling American films based on plays Articles containing video clips Films based on works by Booth Tarkington Films directed by John Ford Fox Film films Silent American drama films Surviving American silent films {{1920s-silent-drama-film-stub