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It's the Old Army Game is a 1926 American silent comedy film starring W. C. Fields and Louise Brooks. The film was directed by Eddie Sutherland and co-stars Sutherland's aunt, the stage actress Blanche Ring in one of her few silent film appearances. The film is based on the revue The Comic Supplement by Joseph P. McEvoy and Fields, and included several skits from Fields' stage plays.[1] The "army game" in the title is in reference to a shell game, a con-trick which Fields’ character observes being played. "It's the old army game," he says, sagely.

It's the Old Army Game
Directed by	Eddie Sutherland
Written by	Thomas J. Geraghty (scenario) J. Clarkson Miller (scenario)
Story by	Joseph P. McEvoy William LeBaron
Based on	The Comic Supplement by Joseph P. McEvoy
Produced by	Adolph Zukor Jesse L. Lasky William LeBaron (associate producer)
Starring	W. C. Fields Louise Brooks
Cinematography	Alvin Wyckoff
Edited by	Thomas J. Geraghty
Production company	Famous Players-Lasky
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	May 24, 1926 (1926-05-24) (US)
Running time	70 mins.
Country	United States
Language	Silent (English intertitles)

Large sections of the film, including the "picnic" and "sleeping on the porch" scenes; were incorporated into Fields' classic talkie film It's a Gift (1934)

Synopsis

Elmer Prettywillie is a small town druggist/general store owner whose customers are eccentric at best and rude and demanding at worst. They include a man who wants "a nice, clean two-cent stamp" from the center of a massive sheet of them.

Prettywillie' sole joy is his pretty clerk , but not her homely maiden aunt, who has an unrequited crush on him. Attempting to sleep on an outdoor back porch, Prettywillie is disturbed by a series of noisy peddlers, including a surly ice man who insists Prettywillie heft his own heavy, rapidly melting block of ice. A neighbor then insists Prettywillie watch her bratty baby; whom Prettywillie cheerfully attempts to smother to stop its crying. The baby eventually gets hold of a large mallet and knows exactly what to do with it. Prettywillie ends up destroying the back porch when he accidentally discharges a shotgun.

Later, Prettywillie and family stage a picnic on the front lawn of a private estate, and order the owner of the house to clean up their unholy, paper-strewn mess.

Real estate hustler George Parker arrives in town and becomes smitten with Marshall. Marshall talks Prettywillie into letting Parker sell real estate out of the store. When New York City police arrive and take Parker away in connection with a previous "bad deal", Prettywillie is left to face the wrath of the investors.

Prettywillie makes a quick trip to New York City, hoping to locate Parker. Not used to city traffic, he drives the wrong way on a one-way street and has various parts of his car sheared off. He hires a mule to pull the car. The mule refuses to budge. Prettywillie tries to give the mule a hot foot,and only succeeds in burning up what's left of the car.

Returning home in defeat, Prettywillie gives himself up at the police station, but he learns a developer has re-bought the lots at a high price, enriching the town and making him a hero. When the maiden aunt arrives, Prettywillie locks her in a cell and makes a hasty retreat. Prettywillie and Parker meanwhile, have eloped.

Cast

• W. C. Fields as Elmer Prettywillie
• Louise Brooks as Mildred Marshall
• Blanche Ring as Tessie Overholt
• William Gaxton as George Parker
• Mary Foy as Sarah Pancoast
• Mickey Bennett as Mickey
• Josephine Dunn as Society Bather
• Jack Luden as Society Bather
• George Currie as Artist
• Elise Cavanna as Nearsighted woman (uncredited)
• John Merton as Fireman (uncredited)
• Rose Elliott (uncredited)

Production

The film was shot mainly at Paramount's Astoria Studios facility in Astoria, Queens and in Manhattan, and is preserved complete in the Library of Congress.[2][3][4] A few outdoor scenes were filmed in Ocala, Florida and Palm Beach, Florida.[5]

A 2018 DVD release, 75 minutes long, contains a newly written organ music score played by noted silent film restorist Ben Model.

References

External links

• It's the Old Army Game at IMDb
• It's the Old Army Game at SilentEra
• It's the Old Army Game at AllMovie

На других языках

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- [en] It's the Old Army Game

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[it] It's the Old Army Game

It's the Old Army Game è un film muto del 1926 diretto da A. Edward Sutherland con protagonisti W. C. Fields e Louise Brooks. Si ispira a una serie di scenette comiche di Joseph Patrick McEvoy scritte nel 1924 per uno spettacolo di W. C. Fields dal titolo The Comic Supplement. Lo spettacolo non andò in scena a Broadway, ma parte degli sketch vennero inclusi in Ziegfeld Follies of 1925[1].

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