The Saphead (1920)

The simple-minded son of a rich financier must find his own way in the world.

Directors:

Herbert Blaché, Winchell Smith

Writers:

Bronson Howard (original play "The Henrietta"), Victor Mapes (play),

Stars:

Edward Jobson, Beulah Booker, Edward Connelly

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Edward Jobson	...	Reverend Murray Hilton
Beulah Booker	...	Agnes Gates
Edward Connelly	...	Mr. Musgrave
Edward Alexander	...	Watson Flint
Irving Cummings	...	Mark Turner
Odette Taylor	...	Mrs. Cornelia Opdyke
Carol Holloway	...	Rose Turner
Jack Livingston	...	Dr. George Wainright
William H. Crane	...	Nicholas Van Alstyne
Buster Keaton	...	Bertie Van Alstyne

Storyline

Nick Van Alstyne owns the Henrietta silver mine and is very rich. His son Bertie is naive and spoiled. His daughter Rose is married to shady investor Mark. Mark wrecks Bertie's wedding plans by making him take the blame for Mark's illegitimate daughter. Mark also nearly ruins the family business by selling off Henrietta stock at too low a price. Bertie, of all people, must come to the rescue on the trading floor.

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Plot Keywords:

wedding | stock exchange | infidelity | gambling | broadway manhattan new york city | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Release Date:

September 1920 (USA)

Also Known As:

A mamlasz

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White (tinted)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bronson Howard's play, "The Henrietta," opened in New York on 26 September 1887; a revised play, "The New Henrietta," by Winchell Smith and Victor Mapes opened there on 22 December 1913 and closed in February 1914 after 48 performances. The opening night cast of the latter play included Douglas Fairbanks as Bertie, Zeffie Tilbury as Hattie and Arthur Stuart Hull as Dr. Wainwright.

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Goofs

When Bertie's car pulls up to the house after the aborted wedding, the front gate is closed, but when he gets out of the car it is wide open.

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Quotes

Bertie: Do all these seats cost 100,000 dollars?

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Connections

Follows The Lamb (1915)

User Reviews

Just look at how he stares from that picture!

A bit old fashioned for today's standards this little gem manages to hold our interest for the very young but very talented comic genius Keaton. Before he would go on writing and/or directing his greatest movie Keaton acted in this role of the multimillionaire son of a Wall-Street broker, unprepared to meet the demands of the world but very good natured on the other hand. One of the first images that made me laugh was when we see his picture in which he appears as utterly confused of what's going on before him. What I always appreciated at Keaton was his talent to appear completely out of tune with the world surrounding him. For the rest of the world he seems "goofy" but it is seen at close analysis that it may be the world that is paradoxical and confused and so Buster's reaction to it seems justified.

The cinematography and direction are nothing special and the story is just another nice and sweet romance with a touch of humor that was very common in the twenties. The best part of the movie is, arguably, the last twenty minutes or so when Keaton, who bought a seat on the floor with 100 thousand $ because "furniture is expensive nowadays", battles the lions on Wall-Street literally. This is a great episode, anticipation of great things to come with its use of physical humor and slapstick as metaphors for deeper ideas.