''Summer Bachelors'' is a 1926 American silent

romantic comedy film Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Romantic comedy e ...

produced and directed by

Allan Dwan Allan Dwan (born Joseph Aloysius Dwan; April 3, 1885 – December 28, 1981) was a pioneering Canadian-born American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter. Early life Born Joseph Aloysius Dwan in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Dwan was ...

. The film is based on the 1926 novel ''Summer Widowers'' by Warner Fabian and stars Madge Bellamy, Matt Moore,

Allan Forrest Allan Forrest Fisher (September 1, 1885 – July 25, 1941) was an American silent film actor. Life and career Allan Forrest Fisher starred in 119 films, mostly silent, between 1913 and 1932. He appeared in films such as '' The Torch Bearer'', ...

, and Hale Hamilton.Progressive Silent Film List: ''Summer Bachelors''
at silentera.com

Plot

After observing other peoples' bad romantic experiences, Derry Thomas no longer has any faith in men. Not believing in marriage, she organizes a club in which, in the summertime, married men can meet single women. A meeting of the club is also attended by Tony Landor, who, unlike the other male attendants, is still a bachelor. Derry falls in love with him, but hesitates to accept it. Put under hypnosis, she ends up confessing that she loves him. A judge, also a member of the club, makes himself available to the couple to perform a civil marriage.

Cast

* Madge Bellamy as Derry Thomas *

as Tony Landor * Matt Moore as Walter Blakely * Hale Hamilton as Beverly Greenway * Leila Hyams as Willowdean French * Charles Winninger as Preston Smith * John Holland as Martin Cole *

Olive Tell Olive Tell (September 27, 1894 – June 8, 1951) was a stage and screen actress from New York City. Biography Tell was educated in several cities in Europe. She and her younger actress sister Alma Tell, Alma graduated from the American Academy ...

as Mrs. Preston Smith *

Walter Catlett Walter Leland Catlett (February 4, 1889 – November 14, 1960) was an American actor and comedian. He made a career of playing excitable, meddlesome, temperamental, and officious blowhards. Career Catlett was born on February 4, 1889, in S ...

as Bachelor #1 * James F. Cullen as Bachelor #2 * Cosmo Kyrle Bellew as Bachelor #3 * Charles Esdale as Bachelor #4 *

Barbara Barondess Barbara Barondess (July 4, 1907 – May 31, 2000) was an American stage and film actress. Barondess was born in New York City, but her family returned to Russia because of the luxury that life held for them there. Her uncle was a lumber magnat ...

(uncredited)

Production

Interiors shot were filmed at Fox's New York studio, while exteriors were shot on location in

Lake Placid, New York Lake Placid is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, Essex County, New York (state), New York, United States. In 2020, its population was 2,205. The village of Lake Placid ...

Reception

The film was considered glamorous by an Indiana critic: "Fifth Avenue, Riverside Drive, Long Island Sound, country house parties, dances on fashionable hotel roofs and in Westchester roadhouses - these are a few of the setting for 'Summer Bachelors.'" Others were scandalized. American films in 1927 were subject to

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

under local and state law. The operator of the Royal Theatre in

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury County, Iowa, Woodbury and Plymouth County, Iowa, Plymouth counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Iowa, fo ...

, was arrested and fined $25 for showing ''Summer Bachelors'' after a citizen filed a complaint for showing an "improper motion picture." A witness from the local woman's club testified in support of the complaint that the film had objectionable scenes, the first where a woman went for a swim apparently without a bathing suit, and in a

hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticate ...

mowing scene where a young couple were caught in a rainstorm, sought shelter for the night, and went to sleep unchaperoned. In another scene noted in testimony, a married man with a young woman on a yacht forcibly kissed her. After filing an appeal and a $200 bond, the theater owner cut two scenes from the film.

Preservation

A copy of ''Summer Bachelors'' is preserved at a film archive in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

References

External links

* 1926 films 1926 romantic comedy films Fox Film films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films based on American novels Films directed by Allan Dwan Films shot in New York (state) Surviving American silent films 1920s American films Silent American romantic comedy films Films based on works by Samuel Hopkins Adams 1920s English-language films {{1920s-silent-comedy-film-stub