Fine Manners

1926 film

Fine Manners

lobby card

Directed by| Richard Rosson
Lewis Milestone
Screenplay by| J. Clarkson Miller
Story by| James A. Creelman
Frank Vreiland
Produced by| William LeBaron
Starring| Gloria Swanson
Eugene O'Brien
Cinematography| George Webber

Production
company

Famous Players–Lasky

Distributed by| Paramount Pictures

Release date

* August 29, 1926 (1926-08-29)

Running time

| 70 minutes
7 reels, 35mm
Country| United States
Language| Silent (English intertitles)
Fine Manners ad in Motion Picture News, 1926

Fine Manners is a 1926 American black-and-white silent comedy film directed initially by Lewis Milestone[1] and completed by Richard Rosson for Famous Players–Lasky/Paramount Pictures. After an argument with actress Gloria Swanson, director Milestone walked off the project, causing the film to be completed by Rosson,[2] who had picked up directorial tricks while working as an assistant director to Allan Dwan.[3] The success of the film, being Rosson's first directorial effort since he co-directed Her Father's Keeper in 1917 with his brother Arthur Rosson,[4] won him a long-term contract with Famous Players–Lasky.[4]

## Plot

[edit]

1926 advertisement

Burlesque chorus girl Orchid Murphy (Gloria Swanson) attracts the attention of wealthy Brian Alden (Eugene O'Brien), who is posing as a writer while "slumming" in the city. Finding her manner quite refreshing compared to the women he usually meets in his circle, he falls in love with her and confesses his wealth. After she agrees to marriage, he leaves for a six-month tour of South America, and Orchid takes a course in "fine manners" to better prepare herself for Brian's world. She becomes too polished, however, and when asked by Brian to marry him upon his return, is happy to become herself again.

## Cast

[edit]

* Gloria Swanson as Orchid Murphy
* Eugene O'Brien as Brian Alden
* Helen Dunbar as Aunt Agatha
* Roland Drew as Buddy Murphy
* John Miltern as Courtney Adams
* Jack La Rue as New Year's Eve Celebrant
* Ivan Lebedeff as Prince

## Critical reception

[edit]

Berkeley Daily Gazette wrote that in her first time in the role of a burlesque chorus girl, Gloria Swanson is "better than ever" and has "added another interesting screen portrayal to her long list of successes."[5] Miami News called the film "a most laughable comedy" and reported "Critics say this is Gloria's triumph".[6] St. Petersburg Times wrote that "Fine Manners stands head and shoulders above anything Gloria has done for the past year," and note that the story was written specifically for her. They wrote that the film "will prove to be the star's most popular vehicle."[7]

Conversely, The New York Times noted that Fine Manners was reminiscent of George Bernard Shaw's play, Pygmalion, writing "The photoplay has been constructed with meticulous attention to the edicts of the movie school of conventionalities; true characterization, intrigue and subtlety are conspicuously absent. Still, the idea of introducing a chorus girl from a burlesque show and having her try valiantly to grasp the ways of a less demonstrative society, does bring to mind Shaw's cockney heroine." They noted that writers underscore the differences between the societal ranks of the two protagonists by emphasizing Orchid's ignorance of social amenities and by her being assigned a common name. While granting that there are scenes in which the cinematography is clever, they made note that the story itself is not very absorbing.[8]

## Preservation

[edit]

The film has survived the decades and is preserved in several archive houses such as George Eastman House, the Library of Congress, and the Museum of Modern Art.[9]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Fine Manners (1926)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Baseline & All Movie Guide. 2012. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
2. ^ Joseph R. Millichap (1981). Lewis Milestone. Twayne's filmmakers series. Twayne Publishers. pp. 15, 31. ISBN 0-8057-9281-3.
3. ^ Lawrence J. Quirk (1984). The Films of Gloria Swanson. Citadel Press. p. 202\. ISBN 0-8065-0874-4.
4. ^ a b Grace Kingsley (September 28, 1926). "Tony will be in it". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 6, 2012. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
5. ^ "Gloria Swanson Finds New Field". Berkeley Daily Gazette. September 13, 1926. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
6. ^ "Fine Manners". Miami News. July 3, 1927. p. 23. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
7. ^ "Gloria Swanson Stars In Photo Booked At Patio". St. Petersburg Times. August 21, 1927. p. 10. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
8. ^ Mordaunt Hall (August 30, 1926). "review: Fine Manners (1926)". The New York Times. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
9. ^ "Fine Manners". April 15, 1926. Retrieved April 15, 2023 - via memory.loc.gov.

## External links

[edit]

Media related to Fine Manners at Wikimedia Commons

* Fine Manners at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Richard Rosson

* Fine Manners (1926)
* Blonde or Brunette (1927)
* Shootin' Irons (1927)
* The Wizard (1927)
* Dead Man's Curve (1928)
* Road House (1928)
* The Escape (1928)
* West Point of the Air (1935)
* Behind the Headlines (1937)
* Hideaway (1937)
* Apache Trail (1942)
* The Get-Away (1942)
* Corvette K-225 (1943)

* v
* t
* e

Films by Lewis Milestone

Directed|

* Seven Sinners (1925)
* The Caveman (1926)
* The New Klondike (1926)
* Two Arabian Knights (1927)
* The Garden of Eden (1928)
* Tempest (uncredited, 1928)
* The Racket (1928)
* Betrayal (1929)
* New York Nights (1929)
* All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
* The Front Page (1931)
* Rain (1932)
* Hallelujah, I'm a Bum (1933)
* The Captain Hates the Sea (1934)
* Paris in Spring (1935)
* Anything Goes (1936)
* The General Died at Dawn (1936)
* The Night of Nights (1939)
* Of Mice and Men (1939)
* Lucky Partners (1940)
* My Life with Caroline (1941)
* Our Russian Front (1942)
* Edge of Darkness (1943)
* The North Star (1943)
* The Purple Heart (1944)
* A Walk in the Sun (1945)
* The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)
* Arch of Triumph (1948)
* No Minor Vices (1948)
* The Red Pony (1949)
* Halls of Montezuma (1951)
* Kangaroo (1952)
* Les Misérables (1952)
* Melba (1953)
* They Who Dare (1954)
* The Widow (1955)
* Pork Chop Hill (1959)
* Ocean's 11 (1960)
* Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)

Screenplays|

* Up and at 'Em (1922)
* The Yankee Consul (1924)
* Listen Lester (1924)
* The Mad Whirl (1925)
* Dangerous Innocence (1925)
* The Teaser (1925)
* Bobbed Hair (1925)

* v
* t
* e

Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw

Characters|

* Eliza Doolittle

Films|

* Everybody's Woman (1924)
* Pygmalion (1935)
* Hoi Polloi (1935)
* Pygmalion (1937)
* Pygmalion (1938)
* Half-Wits Holiday (1947)
* Pies and Guys (1958)
* My Fair Lady (1964)
* Manam Oru Kurangu (1967)
* The Opening of Misty Beethoven (1976)
* Man Pasand (1980)
* She's All That (1999)
* He's All That (2021)

Musical|

* My Fair Lady (1956)

Television|

* Pygmalion (1948)
* Pigmalião 70 (1970)
* Galatea (1977)
* Pygmalion (1983)
* Totalmente Demais (2015)

See also|

* Pygmalion (mythology)
* Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley
* American Princess
* Ask Any Girl
* The First Night of Pygmalion
* Educating Rita
* Fine Manners
* Kitty
* Mighty Aphrodite
* Never on Sunday
* Ogo Bodhu Shundori
* Selfie
* "Someone to Watch Over Me"
* Vapor
* Pygmalion effect
* ELIZA

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