''Mrs. Temple's Telegram'' is a 1920

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

silent comedy film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, whe ...

directed by

James Cruze James Cruze (born Jens Cruz Bosen;Sadoul, Georges (1972). Dictionary of Films'. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. p. 53. . See also: * Parish, James Robert; Pitts, Michael R. (1974). Film Directors: A Guide to Their American Fi ...

and starring

Bryant Washburn Franklin Bryant Washburn III (April 28, 1889 – April 30, 1963) was an American actor who appeared in more than 370 films between 1911 and 1947. Washburn's parents were Franklin Bryant Washburn II and Metha Catherine Johnson Washburn. He attend ...

and

Wanda Hawley Wanda Hawley (born Selma Wanda Pittack; July 30, 1895 – March 18, 1963) was an American actress during the silent film era. She entered the theatrical profession with an amateur group in Seattle, and later toured the United States and Cana ...

. It is based on the 1905 Broadway play ''Mrs. Temple's Telegram'' by

Frank Wyatt Frank Wyatt (7 November 1852 – 5 October 1926) was an English actor, singer, theatre manager and playwright. After beginning his career as an illustrator and painter, in 1877 Wyatt began a stage career in comedy, Victorian burlesque, pantomi ...

. It was produced by

Famous Players–Lasky The Famous Players–Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company formed on June 28, 1916, from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Companyoriginally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Playsan ...

and released through

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

. This film survives and is preserved at 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 ...

and at

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 ot ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

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 ...

, Jack Temple (Washburn) adores his wife, but Mrs. Clara Temple (Hawley) is extremely jealous, and accuses him of flirting with a pretty woman in a department store tea room. After his wife's departure, the woman in question follows Jack around the store and even onto the roof of the building, where he was trying to hide. They are locked in there by the night watchman and have to remain on the roof all night. Jack realizes his wife will never believe this story, so he invents a yarn about visiting his friend John Brown (White) in a distant town. Clara suspects that he is not telling the truth and sends a

telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...

to Brown, while Jack convinces a friend to impersonate Brown and come to his house. Receiving the telegram, Brown goes to the Temple home. Things become complicated with the arrival of Mrs. Brown (Schaefer), the pretty young woman who caused all the trouble, but, after she introduces herself as one of Clara's cousins, all ends happily.

Cast

as Jack Temple *

as Mrs. Clara Temple *

Carmen Phillips Carmen Phillips (born Anna Catherine Phillips; September 15, 1888 – December 14, 1966) was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in more than 60 films between 1914 and 1926, frequently as a " vamp". Biography A native Cali ...

as Pauline *

Walter Hiers Walter Hiers (July 18, 1893 – February 27, 1933) was an American silent film actor. Biography Born in 1893, during his two decade-long acting career spanning from 1912 to 1932, Hiers acted in 101 films. He was a particularly prolific actor ...

as Frank Fuller *

Sylvia Ashton Sylvia Ashton (January 26, 1880 – November 18, 1940) was an American film actress of the silent film era. Ashton was born in Denver, Colorado. She bore a heavyset resemblance to Jane Darwell and like Darwell was playing mother and grand ...

as Mrs. Fuller *

Leo White Leo White (November 10, 1873 – September 20, 1948), was a German-born British-American film and stage actor who appeared as a character actor in many Charlie Chaplin films. Biography Born in Germany to Julius White and Ida Berg White, White g ...

as John Brown *

Anne Schaefer Anne Schaefer (July 10, 1870 – May 3, 1957) was an American actress. She appeared in 147 films between 1911 and 1938. She was the aunt of fellow actresses Eva and Jane Novak. Schaefer was born to German parents, Mr. and Mrs. Herman Schafer ...

as Mrs. Brown * Edward Jobson as Wigson

References

External links

*
Wanda and Bryant in a scene from the film
(University of Washington, Sayre collection) 1920 films American silent feature films Films directed by James Cruze American films based on plays Paramount Pictures films 1920 comedy films Silent American comedy films American black-and-white films 1920s American films 1920s English-language films English-language comedy films {{1920s-silent-comedy-film-stub