''The Self Starter'' 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 ...

directed by

Harry Joe Brown Harry Joe Brown (September 22, 1890 – April 28, 1972) was an American film producer, and earlier a theatre direction, theatre and film director. Biography Harry Joe Brown was born in 1890 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As a producer, he had a p ...

and starring

Reed Howes Hermon Reed Howes (July 5, 1900August 6, 1964) was an American model who later became an actor in silent and sound films. Early life Howes spent the beginning of his childhood in Washington, D.C. before moving with his parents to Ogden, Utah, Og ...

Mildred Harris Mildred Harris (November 29, 1901 – July 20, 1944) was an American stage, film, and vaudeville actress during the early part of the 20th century. She began her career in the film industry as a child actress at age 10. She was also the first w ...

and

Sheldon Lewis Sheldon Lewis (April 20, 1868 – May 7, 1958) was an American actor of the silent era best known for his antagonistic roles. He appeared in more than 90 films from 1914 to 1936. Biography Sheldon Lewis was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. H ...

.Munden p.695 It was distributed by the

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

Rayart Pictures Rayart Pictures was one of the early film production and distribution companies operating independent of the major Hollywood studios in the United States during the later silent film era from the mid-to-late 1920s and into the early "talkies" era ...

Synopsis

Returning from service in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Jerry Neale invents a new self starting

ignition system Ignition systems are used by heat engines to initiate combustion by igniting the fuel-air mixture. In a spark ignition versions of the internal combustion engine (such as petrol engines), the ignition system creates a spark to ignite the fuel-ai ...

that can power

tanks A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; t ...

and

tractors A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a Trailer (vehicle), trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or constructio ...

. He falls in love with young actress Ruth Atkin, but faces a rival in Dan Hicks who also tries to steal his invention.

Cast

as Jerry Neale *

as Ruth Atkin *

as Buddy * John Sinclair as Soly *

Harry Tenbrook Harry Tenbrook (born Henry Olaf Hansen, 9 October 1887 – 4 September 1960) was a Norwegian-American film actor. Biography Henry Olaf Hansen was born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway. His family migrated to the United States in 1892. ...

as Dan Hicks *

Lionel Belmore Lionel Belmore (12 May 1867 – 30 January 1953) was an English character actor and director on stage for more than a quarter of a century. Life and career Onstage, Belmore appeared with Wilson Barrett, Sir Henry Irving, William Faversham, Lil ...

as Crane

References

Bibliography

* Connelly, Robert B.
The Silents: Silent Feature Films
1910-36, Volume 40, Issue 2''. December Press, 1998. * Munden, Kenneth White. ''The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States, Part 1''. University of California Press, 1997.

External links

* 1926 films 1926 comedy films 1920s English-language films American silent feature films Silent American comedy films American black-and-white films Films directed by Harry Joe Brown Rayart Pictures films 1920s American films English-language comedy films {{1920s-US-silent-comedy-film-stub