Excuse Me (1925 film)

Excuse Me
Excuse Me
	Advertisement drawn by John Held Jr.
Directed by	Alfred J. Goulding
Screenplay by	Rupert Hughes
Based on	Excuse Me; by Rupert Hughes
Produced by	Louis B. Mayer
Starring	Conrad Nagel; Norma Shearer; Renée Adorée
Cinematography	John W. Boyle
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date	January 19, 1925;
Running time	60 minutes
Country	United States
Language	Silent (English intertitles)

Excuse Me is a 1925 American silent comedy film starring Norma Shearer and Conrad Nagel. It was directed by Alfred J. Goulding, and based on the 1911 play of the same name written by best-selling novelist Rupert Hughes.^[1]^[2] The comedy concerns naval officer Harry Mallory and his would-be bride Marjorie Newton who spend most of their time running up and down a train looking for a clergyman to marry them.

Excuse Me is a remake of a 1915 film with the same name.

Plot

As described in a review in a film magazine,^[3] promoted for bravery and ordered to catch a boat to the Philippines, Lt. Harry Mallory's (Nagel) sweetheart Marjorie Newton (Shearer) decides that she will go with him. There is a mad scramble to get a minister, but to no avail. Just as Marjorie is bidding Harry goodbye at the train station, he spies a minister getting aboard so he yanks her on the train. They fail to find the minister anywhere on the train, and with night coming, Harry and Marjorie have a terrible row about his taking her and the sleeping arrangements, so Harry sleeps in the wash room. In the morning, Marjorie in disgust plans to leave the train when Francine (Adorée), an old sweetheart of Harry, boards the train with her little boy. Marjorie comes back onboard and is horrified when the boy calls Henry "papa." Francine had taught the boy to do this to fool detectives that are seeking to take the boy away. This situation is all fixed, and then the train pulls into a station where there is a convention of ministers. Harry is trying to corral one when the train leaves, so he hires an airplane to catch the train at the next station. From the air, he sees that a trestle of a bridge ahead of the train is on fire, and makes a daring transfer from the airplane to the train to warn about the bridge. The engineer stops the train, but some of the cars overturn, and the engine with Harry in it hangs over the edge. Harry is rescued, all journey to San Francisco where Harry and Marjorie marry, and they catch a ship for the Philippines.

Cast

Norma Shearer as Marjorie Newton
Conrad Nagel as Harry Mallory
Renée Adorée as Francine
Walter Hiers as Porter
John Boles as Lt. Shaw
Bert Roach as Jimmy Wellington
William V. Mong as Rev. Dr. Temple
Edith Yorke as Mrs. Temple
Gene Cameron as Lt. Hudson
Fred Kelsey as George Ketchem
Paul Weigel as Rev. Job Wales
Mai Wells as Mrs. Job Wales
Lassie Lou Ahern as Bit part (uncredited)
Peggy Ahern as Bit part (uncredited)
Jack Edwards as Bit part (uncredited)
Evelyn Peirce as Bit part (uncredited)
Dick Sutherland as Bit part (uncredited)

Preservation

With no prints of Excuse Me located in any film archives,^[4] it is a lost film.

References

^ White Munden, Kenneth, ed. (1997). The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films, 1921-1930. University of California Press. p. 221. ISBN 0-520-20969-9.
^ Excuse Me at silentera.com
^ Sewell, Charles S. (February 7, 1925). "Excuse Me; Metro-Goldwyn Offers Amusing Version of Rupert Hughes Stage Farce, with Thrilling Climax". The Moving Picture World. 72 (6). New York City: Chalmers Publishing Co.: 557–558. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
^ Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: Excuse Me

External links

Excuse Me at IMDb
‹The template AllMovie title is being considered for deletion.› Excuse Me at AllMovie
Still at silentfilmstillarchive.com
Stills at normashearer.com

This article about a silent comedy film from the 1920s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] White Munden, Kenneth, ed. (1997). The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films, 1921-1930. University of California Press. p. 221. ISBN 0-520-20969-9.

[2] Excuse Me at silentera.com

[MPW-3] Sewell, Charles S. (February 7, 1925). "Excuse Me; Metro-Goldwyn Offers Amusing Version of Rupert Hughes Stage Farce, with Thrilling Climax". The Moving Picture World. 72 (6). New York City: Chalmers Publishing Co.: 557–558. Retrieved August 23, 2021.

[4] Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: Excuse Me

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