The Fair Pretender (1918)
Comedy-drama | 19 May 1918
Cast:
Madge Kennedy, Tom Moore, Robert Walker [ More ]Director:
Charles MillerWriter:
Florence BollesProduction Designer:
Hugo BallinProduction Company:
Goldwyn Pictures Corp.An item in the 19 April 1918 Variety announced The Fair Pretender was slated as actress Madge Kennedy’s next film with Goldwyn Pictures Corp., scheduled to be released on 19 May 1918. A 5 May 1918 [Washington, D.C.] Evening Star brief noted that Kennedy was “putting the finishing touches” on the production, and the 11 May 1918 Motion Picture News stated that filming was “nearing completion” at Goldwyn’s Fort Lee, NJ, studios after some exterior shooting in Long Island, NY.
According to the 8 Jun 1918 Exhibitors Herald, the Chicago Board of Censors required the following cuts prior to the picture’s 19 May 1918 release in Chicago, IL: “Reel 4, spy working at wall safe; first scene showing theft of plans.”
A review in the 15 Jun 1918 Moving Picture World wrongly credited art director Hugo Ballin as the film’s director. While initial reviews and release information cite a six-reel length, a five-reel version might have been released later, according to items in the 15 Jun 1918 Motion Picture News and Motography which listed The Fair Pretender as a five-reeler.
According to the Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database, this film is extant. ...
An item in the 19 April 1918 Variety announced The Fair Pretender was slated as actress Madge Kennedy’s next film with Goldwyn Pictures Corp., scheduled to be released on 19 May 1918. A 5 May 1918 [Washington, D.C.] Evening Star brief noted that Kennedy was “putting the finishing touches” on the production, and the 11 May 1918 Motion Picture News stated that filming was “nearing completion” at Goldwyn’s Fort Lee, NJ, studios after some exterior shooting in Long Island, NY.
According to the 8 Jun 1918 Exhibitors Herald, the Chicago Board of Censors required the following cuts prior to the picture’s 19 May 1918 release in Chicago, IL: “Reel 4, spy working at wall safe; first scene showing theft of plans.”
A review in the 15 Jun 1918 Moving Picture World wrongly credited art director Hugo Ballin as the film’s director. While initial reviews and release information cite a six-reel length, a five-reel version might have been released later, according to items in the 15 Jun 1918 Motion Picture News and Motography which listed The Fair Pretender as a five-reeler.
According to the Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database, this film is extant.
Sylvia Maynard, stenographer to a theatrical producer, tries to prove to her boss that she can act by posing as a society woman at a lavish house party. Don Meredith, the struggling playwright who wrote the work in which Sylvia wishes to star, also masquerades as a famous writer at the party in order to prove that the central thesis of his play is valid: that one can pose in any role in high society and get away with it. Sylvia, introduced as the widow of Captain Milton Brown, falls in love with Don, but her joy turns to panic when her supposedly dead husband suddenly appears. The amused captain allows Sylvia to continue her impersonation for a time but advises her to leave the party. Don, heartbroken, also leaves, but after several adventures in which he helps Sylvia retrieve papers stolen during the party by a German spy, the two lovers are reunited in their true identities, and the play debuts ...
Sylvia Maynard, stenographer to a theatrical producer, tries to prove to her boss that she can act by posing as a society woman at a lavish house party. Don Meredith, the struggling playwright who wrote the work in which Sylvia wishes to star, also masquerades as a famous writer at the party in order to prove that the central thesis of his play is valid: that one can pose in any role in high society and get away with it. Sylvia, introduced as the widow of Captain Milton Brown, falls in love with Don, but her joy turns to panic when her supposedly dead husband suddenly appears. The amused captain allows Sylvia to continue her impersonation for a time but advises her to leave the party. Don, heartbroken, also leaves, but after several adventures in which he helps Sylvia retrieve papers stolen during the party by a German spy, the two lovers are reunited in their true identities, and the play debuts successfully.
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