''The Clinging Vine'' is a 1926 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 ...

produced by

Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American filmmaker and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of American cinema and the most co ...

and Paul Slone and directed by Sloane. It was distributed by DeMille's

Producers Distributing Corporation Producers Distributing Corporation (PDC) was a short-lived Hollywood film distribution company, organized in 1924 and dissolved in 1927. In its brief heyday, film director Cecil B. DeMille was its primary talent and owner of its Culver City� ...

.Progressive Silent Film List: ''The Clinging Vine''
at silentera.com The film is based on a 1922 Broadway play of the same name by Zelda Sears. The film was a starring vehicle for

Leatrice Joy Leatrice Joy (born Leatrice Johanna Zeidler; November 7, 1893 – May 13, 1985) was an American actress most prolific during the silent film era. Early life Joy was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, to dentist Edward Joseph Zeidler. She at ...

who left

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 ...

along with DeMille when he formed his own distributing company PDC.

Plot

Business woman Antoinette Allen (Joy), known only as "A.B.", works for T.M. Bancroft (Edeson) and runs the company for him and the male board of directors, and uses masculine manners, clothes, and hairstyle, but is unhappy. When at a business retreat she overhears the boss's son Jimmy (Moore) call her an

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, she allows Grandma Bancroft (Claude) to give her a makeover to be more feminine by wearing a young woman's attire, plucking her eyebrows, curl her hair, and bat her eyelashes. Grandma teaches A.B. that men do not want brains but a clinging vine, and explains that all she needs to say to any man is "Do go on!" and "Aren't you wonderful!" She is introduced to Grandma's guests in an exaggerated white outfit with ruffles and bows, and all the men are smitten with her, including Jimmy, whom she decides to marry. Despite her guise, A.B. saves the men and Jimmy from a con man, and saves the company from ruin. In time, A.B. is able to combine elements from her former business persona and the flirtatious feminine ideal that the men desire. In the end, Jimmy tells her, "I think you're wonderful", and A.B. replies "Oh, do go on!" just before they kiss.

Cast

as Antoinette 'A.B.' Allen * Tom Moore as Jimmie Bancroft * Robert Edeson as T.M. Bancroft * Snitz Edwards as Dr. A. 'Tut' Tutweiler * Toby Claude as Grandma Bancroft *

Dell Henderson George Adelbert "Dell" Henderson (July 5, 1877 – December 2, 1956) was a Canadian-American actor, film director, director, and writer. He began his long and prolific film career in the early days of silent film. Biography Born in the southwest ...

as B. Harvey Doolittle ''unbilled'' *

Wilson Benge George Frederick "Wilson" Benge (1 March 1875 – 1 July 1955) was an English actor who mostly featured in American films from the silent days. He appeared in over 200 films between 1922 and 1955. Along with actors Charles Coleman and Robert ...

as Grandma's Butler * Isabelle Keith as House Guest * Louis Natheaux as House Guest * John Roche as House Guest

Production

Leatrice Joy had impulsively cut her hair short in 1926, and

, whom Joy had followed when he set up PDC, was publicly angry as it prevented her from portraying traditional feminine roles. The studio developed projects with roles suitable for her "Leatrice Joy bob", and ''The Clinging Vine'' was the third of five films before she regrew her hair. Despite this, a professional dispute would end the Joy / Demille partnership in 1928. Exteriors for The Clinging Vine were filmed at Mt. Lowe and Ocean Park.

Reception

The reviews did not favor the film. While ''

Motion Picture Magazine ''Motion Picture'' was an American monthly fan magazine about film, published from 1911 to 1977.Fuller, Kathryn H. “Motion Picture Story Magazine and the Gendered Construction of the Movie Fan.” ''At the Picture Show: Small-Town Audiences a ...

'' (Oct. 1926) thought the stage version of ''The Clinging Vine'' was a creditable success, they asked what would make PDC or Joy "go in for this brand of stuff." '' Picture Play Magazine'' (Oct. 1926) said Joy was not "fare well" and called the character's transformation in the film "sad", and ''

Photoplay ''Photoplay'' was one of the first American film fan magazines, its title another word for screenplay. It was founded in Chicago in 1911. Under early editors Julian Johnson and James R. Quirk, in style and reach it became a pacesetter for fan m ...

'' (Sep. 1926) called the plot "goofy" and the film "trite and tedious".

Critical review

The film version presented A.B. (the only name she is called) as a much more androgynous character than the Antoinette of the stage play, and satirizes the conventions of the professional or business woman makeover film by absurdly exaggerating its comic changes. Furthermore, when A.B. is alone after her makeover, she returns to using masculine mannerisms. The introductory shot of Joy shows her from behind signing documents and directing employees, creating such a strong mannish impression (possible only in a silent film) that some have described the later feminine transformation as being like that of a female impersonator. Lastly, while much of the comedy comes with the difficulty in which A.B. transforms into the overly exaggerated feminine ideal, the greatest parody is how well it works on the men of the film.

Preservation

A copy of ''The Clinging Vine'' 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 the

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 ...

, and it has been released on DVD.

References

External links

* *
The Clinging Vine
' at silentsaregolden.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Clinging Vine, The 1926 films American silent feature films American films based on plays Silent American comedy films American black-and-white films Producers Distributing Corporation films 1926 comedy films Films directed by Paul Sloane 1920s American films