Cameo Kirby
About Cameo Kirby
Gambler Cameo Kirby joins a card game between Colonel John Randall and the crooked Colonel Moreau. Kirby wins his stake, but Randall loses the family property; Kirby gets the deed to return it, and Randall kills himself before he can. Moreau blames Kirby, shoots him, and dies when Kirby answers in a duel. The Randall heirs hunt Kirby for what they think was a cold-blooded killing. He hides at their country house, explains himself to the brothers, and marries their sister Adele.
Cast & crew
More about Cameo Kirby
John Ford directed for Fox. William Fox presented it. Robert N. Lee wrote the scenario from the play Cameo Kirby by Booth Tarkington and Harry Leon Wilson, which opened in New York on December 20, 1909. George Schneiderman photographed. Fox copyrighted it on October 8, 1923, as LP19564. It runs seven reels, 6,931 feet. This is the first film on which Ford is credited as John Ford rather than Jack Ford.
Themes
Making
The plot turns on a deed Kirby means to return and a suicide he does not cause. The duel with Moreau is what the Randall brothers think they have to avenge.
Look
George Schneiderman photographed the card game, the duel, and the Randall house.
Preservation
Prints are held at the UCLA Film and Television Archive and at the Cinemateca Portuguesa in Lisbon. The film is in the public domain in the United States.
Notes
- Jean Arthur plays Ann Playdell, her first film role.
- Dustin Farnum, who had played Kirby on Broadway in 1909, starred in a 1914 film of the play.
- Fox filmed the story again in 1930 as a musical.
- Alan Hale plays Colonel Moreau. Eric Mayne is Colonel Randall. W. E. Lawrence is Tom Randall. Richard Tucker is cousin Aaron Randall.
- Phillips Smalley plays Judge Playdell, Jack McDonald plays Larkin Bunce, and Eugenie Forde plays Madame Davezac.
Scenes
- Randall loses his property at cards and kills himself before Kirby can return the deed.
- Kirby and Moreau meet in a duel after Moreau has already shot him.
Influenced by
- Cameo Kirby, the 1909 play by Booth Tarkington and Harry Leon Wilson
Influenced
- Cameo Kirby (1930)
Also available
- Internet Archive (silent-cameo-kirby)
