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HISTORY

An advertisement in the 14 December 1919 Wid’s Daily stated that screenwriter Agnes C. Johnston was at work on a series of films starring Charles Ray for Thomas H. Ince Films; in addition to Alarm Clock Andy, the series included Homer Comes Home, The Village Sleuth, and An Old Fashioned Boy (1920, see entries).
       Principal photography was underway by late September 1919 at Thomas H. Ince Studios in Culver City, CA, according to the 20 September 1919 Motion Picture News, which referred to the picture by its working title, He Who Hestitates. Contemporary sources, including the 6 March 1920 Exhibitors Herald and 28 March 1920 Wid’s Daily, cited an issue date of 7 March 1920; however, some regional openings occurred in February 1920, including an 8 February 1920 release in St. Louis, MO, and a mid-February 1920 release in Los Angeles, CA, as noted in the 7 February 1920 St. Louis Star and Times and 17 February 1920 Los Angeles Times.
       According to the Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database, Alarm Clock Andy is extant. ...

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An advertisement in the 14 December 1919 Wid’s Daily stated that screenwriter Agnes C. Johnston was at work on a series of films starring Charles Ray for Thomas H. Ince Films; in addition to Alarm Clock Andy, the series included Homer Comes Home, The Village Sleuth, and An Old Fashioned Boy (1920, see entries).
       Principal photography was underway by late September 1919 at Thomas H. Ince Studios in Culver City, CA, according to the 20 September 1919 Motion Picture News, which referred to the picture by its working title, He Who Hestitates. Contemporary sources, including the 6 March 1920 Exhibitors Herald and 28 March 1920 Wid’s Daily, cited an issue date of 7 March 1920; however, some regional openings occurred in February 1920, including an 8 February 1920 release in St. Louis, MO, and a mid-February 1920 release in Los Angeles, CA, as noted in the 7 February 1920 St. Louis Star and Times and 17 February 1920 Los Angeles Times.
       According to the Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database, Alarm Clock Andy is extant.

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GEOGRAPHIC LOCATIONS
SOURCE CITATIONS
SOURCE
DATE
PAGE
Exhibitors Herald
6 Mar 1920
p. 74
Exhibitors Trade Review
21 Feb 1920
p. 1227
Los Angeles Times
17 Feb 1920
p. 32
Motion Picture News
20 Sep 1919
p. 2479
Motion Picture News
28 Feb 1920
p. 2177
Motion Picture News
27 Mar 1920
p. 2993
Moving Picture World
14 Sep 1918
pp. 1714-15
Moving Picture World
28 Feb 1920
p. 1523
Moving Picture World
6 Mar 1920
p. 1551
New York Times
15 Mar 1920
p. 13
St. Louis Star and Times [St. Louis, MO]
7 Feb 1920
p. 4
Variety
19 Mar 1920
pp. 52-53
Wid's Daily
14 Dec 1919
p. 12
Wid's Daily
21 Mar 1920
p. 5
Wid's Daily
28 Mar 1920
---
CAST
PRODUCTION CREDITS
NAME
PARENT COMPANY
NAME
CREDITED AS
CREDIT
DIRECTOR
Jerome Storm
Dir
PRODUCERS
WRITERS
Agnes C. Johnston
Scen
Agnes C. Johnston
Story
PHOTOGRAPHY
DETAILS
Alternate Title:
He Who Hesitates
Release Date:
7 March 1920
Premiere Information:
St. Louis, MO, opening: 8 Feb 1920; Los Angeles opening: week of 17 Feb 1920
Production Date:
began Sep 1919
Copyright Info
Claimant
Date
Copyright Number
Thomas H. Ince
31 December 1919
LP14642
Physical Properties:
Silent
Black and White
Length(in feet):
4,938
Length(in reels):
5
Country:
United States
Language:
English
SYNOPSIS

Andy Gray, a bashful stutterer who works at Wells's Motor Truck Company, tries to model himself after William Blinker, the company's swaggering efficiency expert. Mr. Wells, hoping to introduce Blinker to his daughter Dorothy, plans to send Blinker to his house with Dorothy's train tickets. However, Blinker's absence forces Wells to send Andy, who has a crush on Dorothy. Too shy to correct Dorothy's assumption that he is Blinker, Andy accidentally thwarts a burglary at Dorothy's house and receives an invitation to visit Dorothy at her vacation resort. At the resort, Andy, registered as Blinker, manages to initiate a business deal with produce magnate Josiah Dodge before he is interrupted by Blinker, who denounces him as an imposter. Andy calmly suggests that the irate Blinker is a lunatic, and the hotel guests overpower the supposed madman and put him back on a train to the city. Back at the motor truck company, Andy is saved from the consequences of his actions by a call from Dodge, who wishes to complete the transaction. Blinker is happy to take credit for the sale, but both Dorothy and Dodge arrive at the office and identify Andy. After the confusion is resolved in Andy's favor, he is offered the position of sales manager and the love of ...

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Andy Gray, a bashful stutterer who works at Wells's Motor Truck Company, tries to model himself after William Blinker, the company's swaggering efficiency expert. Mr. Wells, hoping to introduce Blinker to his daughter Dorothy, plans to send Blinker to his house with Dorothy's train tickets. However, Blinker's absence forces Wells to send Andy, who has a crush on Dorothy. Too shy to correct Dorothy's assumption that he is Blinker, Andy accidentally thwarts a burglary at Dorothy's house and receives an invitation to visit Dorothy at her vacation resort. At the resort, Andy, registered as Blinker, manages to initiate a business deal with produce magnate Josiah Dodge before he is interrupted by Blinker, who denounces him as an imposter. Andy calmly suggests that the irate Blinker is a lunatic, and the hotel guests overpower the supposed madman and put him back on a train to the city. Back at the motor truck company, Andy is saved from the consequences of his actions by a call from Dodge, who wishes to complete the transaction. Blinker is happy to take credit for the sale, but both Dorothy and Dodge arrive at the office and identify Andy. After the confusion is resolved in Andy's favor, he is offered the position of sales manager and the love of Dorothy.

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GENRE
Genre:


Subject

Legend
Viewed by AFI
Partially Viewed
Offscreen Credit
Name Occurs Before Title
AFI Life Achievement Award

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The American Film Institute is grateful to Sir Paul Getty KBE and the Sir Paul Getty KBE Estate for their dedication to the art of the moving image and their support for the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and without whose support AFI would not have been able to achieve this historical landmark in this epic scholarly endeavor.