''Look Your Best'' or ''The Bitterness of Sweets'' is a 1923 American

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

silent

black and white film Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, a ...

directed and written by

Rupert Hughes Rupert Raleigh Hughes (January 31, 1872 – September 9, 1956) was an American novelist, film director, Oscar-nominated screenwriter, military officer, and music composer. He was the brother of Howard R. Hughes Sr. and uncle of billionaire How ...

. It stars

Antonio Moreno Antonio Garrido Monteagudo (September 26, 1887 – February 15, 1967), better known as Antonio Moreno or Tony Moreno, was a Spanish-born American actor and film director of the silent film era and through the 1950s. Early life and silent fil ...

and

Colleen Moore Colleen Moore (born Kathleen Morrison; August 19, 1899 – January 25, 1988) was an American film actress who began her career during the silent film era. Moore became one of the most fashionable (and highly-paid) stars of the era and helped po ...

Plot

As described in a

film magazine Film periodicals combine discussion of individual films, genres and directors with in-depth considerations of the medium and the conditions of its production and reception. Their articles contrast with film reviewing in newspapers and magazines whi ...

, young Italian woman Perla Quaranta (Moore) dances in the streets to the music from her father's

barrel organ A barrel organ (also called roller organ or crank organ) is a France, French mechanical musical instrument consisting of bellows and one or more ranks of organ pipe, pipes housed in a case, usually of wood, and often highly decorated. The basic ...

. Her grace attracts the attention of Carlo Bruni (Moreno), manager of a small theatrical troupe. He hires her to replace an actress who has grown overweight due to her overindulgence with food. Perla makes good with this chance, though she too gives into the temptation of pies, cakes, and other pastries. Carlo is also given into overeating, with his figure suffering and his dancing powers impaired. Perla begins to take on weight, just like her predecessor. She repulses an attempt by a stage hand, Krug (Metcalfe), to court her. In revenge, he tampers with the wire used by Perla when performing her butterfly act. Carlo suspects Krug and thrashes him. Carlo then receives a sentence of thirty days in jail for this assault. Meanwhile, Perla, in her convalescence, is almost won by a baker who describes the tempting pastries he makes. When Carlo returns after serving his sentence, he and Perla resolve to diet steadily and win fame as dancers. They do so and are married into the bargain.

Cast

as Perla Quaranta *

as Carlo Bruni *

William Orlamond William Anderson Orlamond (1 August 1867 – 23 April 1957) was a Danish-American film actor. Orlamond appeared in more than 80 films between 1912 and 1938. Orlamond delivered his finest performance in director Victor Sjöström’s masterp ...

as Pietro * Orpha Alba as Nella *

Earl Metcalfe Earl Metcalfe (March 11, 1889 – January 26, 1928) was an American actor. Biography Born in 1889, Metcalfe appeared in the films ''The Fortune Hunter'', '' While New York Sleeps'', '' What Women Will Do'', '' White Eagle'', ''While Justice Wait ...

as Krug *

Martha Mattox Martha Mattox (born Eleanor Perry Mellen; June 19, 1879 – May 2, 1933) was an American silent film actress most notable for her portrayal of Mammy Pleasant in the 1927 film '' The Cat and the Canary''. She also played a role in ''Torrent' ...

as Mrs. Blitz *

Francis McDonald Francis McDonald (August 22, 1891 – September 18, 1968) was an American actor whose career spanned 52 years. Early years Born on August 22, 1891, in Bowling Green, Kentucky, McDonald was the son of John Francis McDonald and Catherine Ashlu ...

as Alberto Cabotto

Preservation

No copies of ''Look Your Best'' are listed in any film archives,Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: ''Look Your Best''
/ref> making this 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. ...

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0014212 Films directed by Rupert Hughes Films with screenplays by Rupert Hughes Silent American comedy films 1923 comedy films 1923 films 1920s English-language films American black-and-white films Goldwyn Pictures films 1920s American films English-language comedy films