AFI CATALOG OF FEATURE FILMS

THE FIRST 100 YEARS 1893–1993

Movie Title

The Prince and Betty (1919)

Comedy | 21 December 1919

Cast:

William Desmond, Mary Thurman, Anita Kay [ More ]

Director:

Robert Thornby

Writer:

Fred Myton

Production Company:

Jesse D. Hampton Productions
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HISTORY

Contemporary reviews mistakenly spell the name of the actor playing Crump as William Levaull. ...

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Contemporary reviews mistakenly spell the name of the actor playing Crump as William Levaull.

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SOURCE CITATIONS
SOURCE
DATE
PAGE
ETR
20 Dec 1919
p. 269
MPN
20 Dec 1919
p. 4503, 4532
MPW
20 Dec 1919
pp. 1010-11
Wid's
8 Nov 1919
cover page
CAST
NAME
CREDITED AS
CREDIT
PRODUCTION CREDITS
NAME
PARENT COMPANY
PRODUCTION COMPANY
Jesse D. Hampton Productions
DISTRIBUTION COMPANY
Pathé Exchange, Inc.
NAME
CREDITED AS
CREDIT
DIRECTOR
Robert Thornby
Dir
PRODUCER
Jesse D. Hampton
Pres
WRITER
Fred Myton
Scen
PHOTOGRAPHY
Harry Gerstad
Cam
SOURCES
LITERARY
Based on the novel The Prince and Betty by P. G. Wodehouse (New York, 1912).
LITERARY SOURCE AUTHOR
P. G. Wodehouse
DETAILS
Release Date:
21 December 1919
Production Date:

Copyright Info
Claimant
Date
Copyright Number
Pathé Exchange, Inc.
2 January 1920
LU14585
Physical Properties:
Silent
Black and White
Length(in reels):
5
Country:
United States
SYNOPSIS

Young American John Maude is forced to find a job when he falls in love with society girl Betty Keith. He accepts a sudden offer to go to Mervo, a tiny island country, where he is hired by Benjamin Scobell to pose as the lost prince of Mervo as an attraction to bolster the Mervo casino as a rival of Monte Carlo. Scobell also wants John to marry his stepdaughter, who turns out to be Betty. When Betty accuses John of being simply a shill for a gambling house, John closes the casino and tries to stage a revolution to make Mervo a republic. The natives resist, but the President of Mervo returns to run the casino himself, and Betty and John escape to America ...

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Young American John Maude is forced to find a job when he falls in love with society girl Betty Keith. He accepts a sudden offer to go to Mervo, a tiny island country, where he is hired by Benjamin Scobell to pose as the lost prince of Mervo as an attraction to bolster the Mervo casino as a rival of Monte Carlo. Scobell also wants John to marry his stepdaughter, who turns out to be Betty. When Betty accuses John of being simply a shill for a gambling house, John closes the casino and tries to stage a revolution to make Mervo a republic. The natives resist, but the President of Mervo returns to run the casino himself, and Betty and John escape to America together.

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Princes, Presidents, Islands, Casinos, Americans in foreign countries, Socialites, Impersonation and imposture, Revolutions
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.