The trajectory of Ray's hero to a more mature figure is frequently difficult, in his films under producer Thomas Ince, as I outline in my Ince biography. The treatment could be mild, as in An Old Fashioned Boy, in which he plays a very traditional young man who finds a girl, Betty (Ethel Shannon), with the same apparent inclinations. However, when she learns that he has already bought a house, she ends the engagement and turns to a wastrel whose ideal marriage is one where the divorce papers are always handy.
When two quarreling friends deposit their children in his care, he learns that the "little angels" are indeed the "devils" described by their parents. However, whereas another comedian, such as Buster Keaton, might have used this as a springboard to reexamine the whole prospect of marriage, for Ray it becomes an opportunity to trap his Betty into caring for the children as a nurse. She finally decides that the house is not so bad, and realizes that the wastrel was indeed a bounder.
The movie's pressbook touted that the film did not use any iris or fade-outs, cutting directly to new scenes; "the effect is said to be most pleasing." An Old Fashioned Boy cost $56,822 to produce, and grossed $321,239.
When two quarreling friends deposit their children in his care, he learns that the "little angels" are indeed the "devils" described by their parents. However, whereas another comedian, such as Buster Keaton, might have used this as a springboard to reexamine the whole prospect of marriage, for Ray it becomes an opportunity to trap his Betty into caring for the children as a nurse. She finally decides that the house is not so bad, and realizes that the wastrel was indeed a bounder.
The movie's pressbook touted that the film did not use any iris or fade-outs, cutting directly to new scenes; "the effect is said to be most pleasing." An Old Fashioned Boy cost $56,822 to produce, and grossed $321,239.