''Orchids and Ermine'' is a 1927 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 ...

directed by

Alfred Santell Alfred Allen Santell (1895–1981), was an American film director and film producer. Santell directed over 60 films, beginning in 1917, most of which were two-reel comedy short subjects for Hal Roach and other productions companies. Taking up f ...

and starring

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 ...

that was filmed partly on location in New York. The film still exists. This was

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Ninnian Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nearly nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last survivi ...

's first feature-length film (his first film being a short subject released in 1926).

Plot

In New York City,

flapper Flappers were a subculture of young Western women prominent after the First World War and through the 1920s who wore short skirts (knee length was considered short during that period), bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their ...

Pink Watson works as atelephone operator at a cement factory and dreams of marrying rich. Her constant daydreaming of wealth annoys her fellow workers, and ruins the heart of one of her worshipping colleagues. Instead, she interviews at the De Luxe Hotel on

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue runs south from 143rd Street (Manhattan), West 143rd Street in Harlem to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The se ...

for the job of hotel switchboard operator, and lands the position despite the large number of women soliciting. During her first day, she befriends Ermintrude De Vere, and is invited to accompany her on a date with a young millionaire named Mr. Vandergriff, who is later revealed as a scheming chauffeur at Long Island. Jenkins' boss, an old millionaire, fires him and tries to flirt with the two girls. While

gold digger A gold digger is a person, typically a woman, who engages in a type of transactional sexual relationship for money rather than love. If it turns into marriage, it is a type of marriage of convenience. Etymology and usage The term "gold di ...

Ermintrude is flattered by his attention, Pink reacts appalled at the age difference and almost walks home, until a friend in the cement factory's truck picks her up. While working the next day, an oil millionaire named Tabor checks in and is immediately set upon by gold-diggers. He swaps places with his assistant Hank and poses as a chauffeur. Pink falls for Tabor without knowing of his fortunes (even though he never lied to her: it was Ermintrude who convinced Pink that the man introducing himself as Tabor was actually his assistant), while Hank gets in trouble under the identity of his employer by charming Ermintrude. Hank quickly learns the backsides of constantly being followed by numerous gold diggers. Following his shift, he helps Tabor with the techniques to seduce a lady, because Tabor has fallen in love with Pink. These tips do not prove to be helpful, noting that when Hank puts them to test with Pink himself, he gets yelled at. When Tabor tries to flirt with the same pick up lines, Pink is less than flattered and criticizes him for taking money from his 'boss', with which he bought orchids for her. Tabor then tries to reveal his true identity, but Pink does not believe him and tries to get rid of him in the mass of the New York streets. She eventually gets on a bus, thinking to have lost him, only to have him jumping on the same bus from another vehicle. Pink is still not impressed, until he gets hit on his head by a bridge and passes out. Feeling guilty, Pink takes care of him and falls in love, even though realizing that she will be a poor girl her entire life when she marries a valet. Hank, meanwhile, is taking Ermintrude out for dinner, during which she quickly tricks him into eloping with her. The following morning, Tabor, now dressed as a millionaire, asks Pink to marry him, and she (thinking he has moved up in status to a department store floorwalker) enthusiastically accepts. He then again tries to reveal his true identity and spoils his fiancé with ermine fur, as well as a wedding dress in a fancy shop. Meanwhile, the shop's owner finds a photo in the newspaper featuring 'Tabor' (Hank) and Ermintrude as newlyweds, and thinks that the real Tabor is an impostor. He alerts the police, and has Tabor arrested. Devastated by what she thinks is betrayal, Pink contacts 'Tabor' (Hank) to help her get his 'valet' (Tabor) out of jail. At court, Hank initially lies about the identity switch because he is afraid of losing Ermintrude, but admits to the truth after her departure. Pink is happily reunited with Tabor and they leave for Oklahoma.

Cast

Background

Exteriors for the film were shot on location in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and shortly after the arrival of the troupe in the city the weather turned cold and rainy. This gives the film the distinction of being one of the first major motion pictures to show the streets of New York in the rain (the studio, making the most of a bad situation, chose to say they had ''planned'' for it to rain, and it was the ''lack'' of rain that had kept the troupe from returning to Los Angeles from New York on schedule). Cameras were placed in hidden locations so scenes could be shot with unsuspecting pedestrians, however when viewing the rushes of scenes just show, one news boy was seen staring directly into the camera in every shot; the sharp-eyed boy had noticed the hidden cameras in every instance. As was often the case in Moore's films, and was one of the major attractions of her features—the viewer was treated to the latest fashions during the course of the film.

Hedda Hopper Elda Furry (May 2, 1885February 1, 1966), known professionally as Hedda Hopper, was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, more than 35 million people read her columns. A strong supporter of the Hous ...

had a part in the film before she became a famous columnist. A 6-year-old Joe Yule Jr. had a part of a smooth-talking midget... Joe would become famous under the name

. The film was well-reviewed.

Preservation

Prints of ''Orchids and Ermine'' are located in 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 ...

George Eastman Museum Motion Picture Collection The George Eastman Museum Motion Picture Collection in Rochester, New York comprises about 28,000 titles, including features, shorts, documentaries, newsreels, and experimental moving images. The collection is renowned for its holdings of silent f ...

CINEMATEK The Royal Belgian Film Archive (; ) is a cinematheque located in the Centre for Fine Arts, in Brussels, Belgium. It is often referred to as CINEMATEK (a homophone of ). History The cinematheque was established in 1938 as a film archive by H ...

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 ...

Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive The Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA, formerly abbreviated as BAM/PFA) are a combined art museum, repertory movie theater, and film archive associated with the University of California, Berkeley. Lawrence Rinder was Director ...

, and

BFI National Archive The BFI National Archive is a department of the British Film Institute, and one of the largest film archives in the world. It was founded as the National Film Library in 1935; its first curator was Ernest Lindgren. In 1955, its name became th ...

.Library of Congress / FIAF American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: ''Orchids and Ermine''
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References

Footnotes

* Colleen Moore, ''Silent Star'', Doubleday, 1968. *Jeff Codori (2012), ''Colleen Moore; A Biography of the Silent Film Star''
McFarland Publishing
(Print , EBook ). * ''Daily Illini'' (University of Illinois), January 30, 1927, p. 10.

External links

*

at www.silentfilmstillarchive.com * {{Alfred Santell 1927 films 1927 comedy films 1920s American films 1920s English-language films American black-and-white films American silent feature films Films directed by Alfred Santell Films set in Manhattan Films set in New York City First National Pictures films Flappers Silent American comedy films Surviving American silent films English-language comedy films