The Five Dollar Baby (1922)
Comedy-drama | 4 June 1922
Cast:
Viola Dana, Ralph Lewis, Otto Hoffman [ More ]Director:
Harry BeaumontWriters:
Rex Taylor, Irvin S. CobbProducer:
Harry BeaumontCinematographer:
John ArnoldProduction Designer:
A. F. MantzProduction Company:
Metro Pictures Corp.Items in the 22 Oct 1921 Camera and 19 Nov 1921 Exhibitors Trade Review credited Edith Kennedy as the scenarist. Filming began sometime in late Oct or Nov 1921 at the Metro Pictures Corp. studio in Hollywood, CA. The 3 Dec 1921 Camera noted that a restaurant scene was filmed at the studio’s commissary.
Editing was underway by early Dec 1921, according to a 10 Dec 1921 Camera brief. Months later, the 23 Jul 1922 Film Daily cited a scheduled release date of 4 Jun 1922. The film opened the week of 26 Jun 1922 in New York City at the Criterion Theatre, where box-office grosses were negatively affected by weather, as stated in the 14 Jul 1922 Var. Critical reception was generally positive, although reviews in the 4 Jun 1922 Film Daily and 17 Jun 1922 Motion Picture News suggested that the running time could have been shortened.
An item in the 21 Oct 1922 Motion Picture News reported that promotions for the film at the Strand Theatre in Milwaukee, WI, included a “Five Dollar Baby” contest. Film footage of babies, taken in Milwaukee’s Washington Park and on the shore of Lake Michigan, was shown before screenings of The Five Dollar Baby, and audience members were provided ballots to vote on the cutest baby. The winning baby received a five-dollar monthly contribution to a savings account for six months, and four similar prizes were awarded to runners-up. ...
Items in the 22 Oct 1921 Camera and 19 Nov 1921 Exhibitors Trade Review credited Edith Kennedy as the scenarist. Filming began sometime in late Oct or Nov 1921 at the Metro Pictures Corp. studio in Hollywood, CA. The 3 Dec 1921 Camera noted that a restaurant scene was filmed at the studio’s commissary.
Editing was underway by early Dec 1921, according to a 10 Dec 1921 Camera brief. Months later, the 23 Jul 1922 Film Daily cited a scheduled release date of 4 Jun 1922. The film opened the week of 26 Jun 1922 in New York City at the Criterion Theatre, where box-office grosses were negatively affected by weather, as stated in the 14 Jul 1922 Var. Critical reception was generally positive, although reviews in the 4 Jun 1922 Film Daily and 17 Jun 1922 Motion Picture News suggested that the running time could have been shortened.
An item in the 21 Oct 1922 Motion Picture News reported that promotions for the film at the Strand Theatre in Milwaukee, WI, included a “Five Dollar Baby” contest. Film footage of babies, taken in Milwaukee’s Washington Park and on the shore of Lake Michigan, was shown before screenings of The Five Dollar Baby, and audience members were provided ballots to vote on the cutest baby. The winning baby received a five-dollar monthly contribution to a savings account for six months, and four similar prizes were awarded to runners-up.
A tramp called the “Solitary Kid” finds an abandoned infant, Ruth, on a doorstep, with a note promising a rich reward upon the girl’s eighteenth birthday. The Solitary Kid "hocks" her for five dollars with Ben Shapinsky, a Jewish pawnbroker, who rears the infant as his own daughter. In time, Ruth turns eighteen, and the Solitary Kid, who has continued to pay interest on his five-dollar “loan,” returns to the pawnbroker and demands Ruth back. If Shapinsky refuses to turn the girl over, he insists on being paid $10,000. Ruth overhears the proposition and informs the police. The Solitary Kid is arrested. Ruth goes on to marry Larry Donovan, an Irish youth who was her childhood sweetheart. ...
A tramp called the “Solitary Kid” finds an abandoned infant, Ruth, on a doorstep, with a note promising a rich reward upon the girl’s eighteenth birthday. The Solitary Kid "hocks" her for five dollars with Ben Shapinsky, a Jewish pawnbroker, who rears the infant as his own daughter. In time, Ruth turns eighteen, and the Solitary Kid, who has continued to pay interest on his five-dollar “loan,” returns to the pawnbroker and demands Ruth back. If Shapinsky refuses to turn the girl over, he insists on being paid $10,000. Ruth overhears the proposition and informs the police. The Solitary Kid is arrested. Ruth goes on to marry Larry Donovan, an Irish youth who was her childhood sweetheart.
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