''Grumpy'' is a 1923 American silent

comedy drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

distributed by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

. It is based on a 1913 Broadway play ''Grumpy'' by Horace Hodges and Thomas Wigney Percyval and starred English actor

Cyril Maude Cyril Francis Maude (24 April 1862 — 20 February 1951) was an English actor-manager. Biography Maude was born in London and educated at Wixenford and Charterhouse School. In 1881, he was sent to Adelaide, South Australia, on the clipper ship ...

. The director of this film is

William C. deMille William Churchill deMille (July 25, 1878 – March 5, 1955), also spelled de Mille or De Mille, was an American screenwriter and film director from the silent film era through the early 1930s. He was also a noted playwright prior to moving into ...

, brother of Cecil, and the star is

Theodore Roberts Theodore Roberts (October 8, 1861 – December 14, 1928) was an American film and stage actor. Early life Roberts was born in San Francisco, California. He was a cousin of the stage actress Florence Roberts. His choice of a career dis ...

. This film was remade by Paramount as an early sound film for ''Cyril Maude'' reprising his Broadway role. This silent version was thought to be long lost but a copy has been discovered in the

Gosfilmofond Gosfilmofond is a state film archive in Russia. It is the main film archive of the Russian Federation and a member of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF). It is a state cultural institution — curator of films collection and oth ...

Archive in Moscow, Russia.

Plot

As described in a film magazine review, Ernest Heron wants to marry Virginia Bullivant, the daughter of retired lawyer Grumpy. Ernest is entrusted with a valuable diamond to bring to his firm in London. Chamberlin Jarvis, a crook and rival for the hand of the young woman, hears of the trip. After much intrigue, Jarvis obtains the diamond but, through the evidence of a

gardenia ''Gardenia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the coffee family, Rubiaceae, native to the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Asia, Madagascar and Pacific Islands, and Australia. The genus was named by Carl Linnaeus and John Ellis af ...

, he is exposed and caught. Ernest and Virginia end up together.

Cast

References

External links

* * 1923 films American silent feature films American films based on plays Films directed by William C. deMille American black-and-white films 1920s rediscovered films 1923 comedy-drama films Rediscovered American films 1920s American films Silent American comedy-drama films 1920s English-language films {{1920s-silent-drama-film-stub