The Fool's Revenge (1916)
Melodrama | 13 February 1916
The 7 January 1916 Variety announced that A Fool's Revenge was underway. The 29 January 1916 Motion Picture News reported: "A story that served [Edwin] Booth, [Lawrence] Barrett, [John] McCullough, Edwin Forrest and practically every famous actor for three generations as a starring vehicle, The Fool's Revenge, is being produced by William Fox. Maude Gilbert and William H. Tooker are the leads." Another item in the same issue of the magazine reported that "an overhead bank of studio lights fell to the floor during the making of "The Fool's Revenge, nearly killing director W. S. Davis and his assistant, Arthur Vaughan.
According to an advertisement in the 23 December 1916 Moving Picture World, at least part of The Fool's Revenge was filmed at the Kalem Company studios at 235 West 23rd Street in New York City.
The film was copyrighted at six reels, and Variety called it as such, although other sources listed it as five reels. A list of releases in the 4 March 1916 Motography cited a length of 5,000 feet and a release date of 20 February 1916.
The film opened at New York's Academy of Music on Sunday, 13 February 1916, according to the 26 February 1916 Motion Picture News. The item identified Warner Oland as "Randall," rather than Richard Neal, who was also listed a Richard Neill.
In the 4 March 1916 Moving Picture World, reviewer Hanford C. Judson declared, "No art that deals with deep and painful human moments without significance as a whole can be wholesome. This is an ...
The 7 January 1916 Variety announced that A Fool's Revenge was underway. The 29 January 1916 Motion Picture News reported: "A story that served [Edwin] Booth, [Lawrence] Barrett, [John] McCullough, Edwin Forrest and practically every famous actor for three generations as a starring vehicle, The Fool's Revenge, is being produced by William Fox. Maude Gilbert and William H. Tooker are the leads." Another item in the same issue of the magazine reported that "an overhead bank of studio lights fell to the floor during the making of "The Fool's Revenge, nearly killing director W. S. Davis and his assistant, Arthur Vaughan.
According to an advertisement in the 23 December 1916 Moving Picture World, at least part of The Fool's Revenge was filmed at the Kalem Company studios at 235 West 23rd Street in New York City.
The film was copyrighted at six reels, and Variety called it as such, although other sources listed it as five reels. A list of releases in the 4 March 1916 Motography cited a length of 5,000 feet and a release date of 20 February 1916.
The film opened at New York's Academy of Music on Sunday, 13 February 1916, according to the 26 February 1916 Motion Picture News. The item identified Warner Oland as "Randall," rather than Richard Neal, who was also listed a Richard Neill.
In the 4 March 1916 Moving Picture World, reviewer Hanford C. Judson declared, "No art that deals with deep and painful human moments without significance as a whole can be wholesome. This is an unwholesome picture." New York Clipper called it: "Rather a gruesome affair." The Pennsylvania Board of Censors condemned the film, the 1 April 1916 Motion Picture News noted, but the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia overruled its judgment.
The story bears a resemblance to that of Biograph's 1909 A Fool's Revenge (see entry).
The National Film Preservation Board (NFPB) included this film on its list of Lost U.S. Silent Feature Films as of February 2021.
Fool's Revenge
Anson, a clown, kills his wife when he discovers that she has been having an affair with a wealthy libertine named Randall, and then spends all of his time caring for his daughter Ethel and planning revenge. As a result, when he learns that Mendell, Randall's friend, is interested in Randall's wife, he does his best to encourage the affair. Mendell also has an interest in Ethel, however, and kidnaps her in order to seduce her. Anson hears of the abduction and, thinking that the woman is Mrs. Randall, devises a plan in which she is drugged and then taken to a cottage with Mendell, after which Randall is notified of the liaison. Instead of avenging himself on Randall, though, Anson has really caused the ruin of his own daughter, since it is she and not Mrs. Randall who is discovered in the cottage with ...
Anson, a clown, kills his wife when he discovers that she has been having an affair with a wealthy libertine named Randall, and then spends all of his time caring for his daughter Ethel and planning revenge. As a result, when he learns that Mendell, Randall's friend, is interested in Randall's wife, he does his best to encourage the affair. Mendell also has an interest in Ethel, however, and kidnaps her in order to seduce her. Anson hears of the abduction and, thinking that the woman is Mrs. Randall, devises a plan in which she is drugged and then taken to a cottage with Mendell, after which Randall is notified of the liaison. Instead of avenging himself on Randall, though, Anson has really caused the ruin of his own daughter, since it is she and not Mrs. Randall who is discovered in the cottage with Mendell.
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