Fine Feathers

Fine Feathers (1921)

One of the most dramatic tage successes of recent times...

Bob Reynolds, a construction engineer, is constructing a dam. Finding himself in financial trouble, he is persuaded by John Brand to use a cheaper--but far inferior--cement to replace the cement he's been using. Brand, who is determined to ruin Reynolds, then talks him into buying worthless stock. Finding himself in desperate straits, Reynolds forges a check using Brand's name. Unfortunately the finished dam breaks and many people are killed. Under suspicion by the authorities, Reynolds desperate searches for a way out of his worsening situation.

Date of release
1921-06-20
TMDB
7.0 / 10 (1)
Runtime
50m
Genres
Drama
Director
Fred Sittenham

Casting

Interesting facts

Fine Feathers is a 1921 American silent melodrama directed by Fred Sittenham and starring Eugene Pallette, Claire Whitney, Thomas W. Ross, Warburton Gamble and June Elvidge. Produced and distributed by Metro Pictures, it was adapted by Lois Zellner from Eugene Walter's 1912 play Fine Feathers. It was the second screen adaptation of the play, following a 1915 film.

Production

In July 1920, Metro selected Fred Sittenham to direct Fine Feathers after he completed work on Clothes. Frederick Truesdell was initially announced for the role of John Brand but was replaced by Warburton Gamble; Truesdell was reassigned to the supporting role of J. B. Hollis. Louise Huff was originally cast as Jane Reynolds, but illness forced her to withdraw. Claire Whitney replaced her in August 1920.

Principal photography took place from August through early October 1920. Interior scenes were filmed at Metro's studio on 61st Street in New York City, while exterior work included locations on Staten Island and at the Kensico Reservoir. Billie Burke's estate, Burkeley Crest, at Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, was used for exterior views of Brand's home.

One sequence required a theater crowd during a rainstorm. Metro received permission from New York's police and fire departments to film outside a Broadway theater before dawn, with trade reports announcing plans for 1,500 extras. Contemporary reports variously identified the location as the Comedy Theatre on 41st Street and a set representing the Belasco Theatre.

For the dam-collapse sequence, contemporary reports identified Metro art director M. P. Staulcup as the designer of a miniature dam built at the New York studio. The model was mounted over a drainage basin and broken apart with water supplied by two fire hoses. The AFI Catalog credits Lester J. Vermilyea as the film's art director.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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