''Circus Days'' is a 1923 American silent

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

starring

child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage, television, or in film, movies. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associa ...

Jackie Coogan John Leslie Coogan (October 26, 1914 – March 1, 1984) was an American actor and comedian who began his film career as a child actor in silent films. Coogan's role in Charlie Chaplin's film ''The Kid (1921 film), The Kid'' (1921) made him one o ...

, directed by Eddie Cline, produced by

Sol Lesser Sol Lesser (February 17, 1890 – September 19, 1980) was an American film producer. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 and was awarded the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1961. Biography In 1913, while living in San ...

and Jackie Coogan's own production company, and distributed through Associated First National Pictures. It is based on the 1877 novel ''

Toby Tyler; or, Ten Weeks with a Circus ''Toby Tyler; or, Ten Weeks with a Circus'' is a children's novel by "James Otis", the pen name of James Otis Kaler. Summary ''Toby Tyler'' tells the story of a ten-year-old orphan who runs away from a foster home to join the traveling circus o ...

'' by James Otis. Rialto Theater - Allentown PA - 1923

Plot

Cast

as Toby Tyler * Barbara Tennant as Ann Tyler * Russell Simpson as Eben Holt *

Claire McDowell Claire McDowell ( MacDowell; November 2, 1877 – October 23, 1966) was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in 350 films between 1908 and 1945. Early years Claire MacDowell was born in New York City on November 2, 1877, the da ...

as Martha * Cesare Gravina as Luigi, the Clown * Peaches Jackson as Jeannette * Sam De Grasse as Lord the Concessionaire *

DeWitt Jennings DeWitt Clarke Jennings (June 21, 1871 – March 1, 1937) was an American film and stage actor. He appeared in 17 Broadway plays between 1906 and 1920, and in more than 150 films between 1915 and 1937. Biography He was born in Cameron, Miss ...

as Daly * Nellie Lane as Fat Woman * William Barlow as Human Skeleton, 'World's Skinniest Man'

Preservation status

''Circus Days'' had been considered a

lost film A lost film is a feature film, feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. ...

, but a print survived in Russia. It was digitally presented to the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

from Russian archive Godmosfilm in 2010 along with several other lost silent films.

References

External links

* 1923 films 1923 comedy films 1920s American films 1920s English-language films 1920s rediscovered films American black-and-white films American silent feature films Circus films Films directed by Edward F. Cline Films produced by Sol Lesser First National Pictures films Rediscovered American films Silent American comedy films Surviving American silent films {{1920s-silent-comedy-film-stub