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About David Menefee
Expertise
US silent films made from 1900-1929.
Sarah Bernhardt, Lillian Gish, Mary Pickford, Jack Pickford, Lottie Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, Richard Barthelmess, George O'Brien, Lou-Tellegen, Wallace Reid, Mae Marsh, Alla Nazimova, D. W. Griffith, Billy "Buckwheat" Thomas.
Experience
I am the author of Sarah Bernhardt in the Theater of Films and Sound Recordings (McFarland 2003),
The First Female Stars: Women of the Silent Era (Greenwood/Praeger 2004)
The First Male Stars: Men of the Silent Era (BearManor Media March 2007)
Richard Barthelmess: A Life in Pictures (BearManor Media February 2008)
George O'Brien: A Man's Man in Hollywood (BearManor Media January 2010)
I have spent many years researching silent films, and have a large collection of rare resource books from which I can draw information that may be helpful.
Education/Credentials
Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts
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You are here: Experts > Movies > Classic Movies > Classic Film > Title to old movie
Expert: David Menefee - 10/31/2009
Question
I am looking for the Title to an old 30-40's B%26W Classic. Story: A rich family has a butler who serves them well. The entire family including Butler go on an ocean voyage and the ship sinks and they are all stranded on a deserted Island. There is a role reversal as the Butler becomes the boss to the group and the rich family become his subjects. I believe the daughter to the rich man falls in love with the Butler-now king. Everyone is eventually rescued from the island and the Butler reverts back to his previous role, much to the dismay of the daughter.
Answer
Thank you for asking this interesting question. The movie you recall is probably the famous, old story called The Admirable Chrichton. The Admirable Crichton is a comic stage play written in 1902 by J. M. Barrie. It was produced by Charles Frohman and opened at the Duke of York's Theatre in London on 4 November 1902, running for an extremely successful 828 performances. It starred Irene Vanbrugh. In 1903, the play was produced on Broadway by Frohman, starring William Gillette.
A 1918 film adaptation was directed by G. B. Samuelson.
The play was also filmed in 1919 by Cecil B. De Mille in a wonderful silent version titled Male and Female starring Gloria Swanson and Thomas Meighan.
The play was also filmed in 1934 titled We're Not Dressing, a Bing Crosby vehicle.
A 1957 film adaptation starred Kenneth More, Sally Ann Howes and Cecil Parker.
The play was filmed twice for television, in 1950 and 1968.
Cordially,
David W. Menefee
P.S. After nearly fourteen years of painstaking research, work is finally complete on the first full-length biography of actor Richard Barthelmess. I hope you will find the book as pleasing to read and share as I found the research and writing. For more information, please visit www.thegreatstars.com, or visit the publisher at www.bearmanormedia.com.
David W. Menefee is the author of:
Sarah Bernhardt in the Theater of Films and Sound Recordings
The First Female Stars: Women of the Silent Era
The First Male Stars: Men of the Silent Era
Richard Barthelmess: A Life in Pictures
Texting Harry (with Connie Podesta)
A Craving for Travel (with Jim Strong)
George O'Brien: A Man's Man in Hollywood
Buckwheat (with William Thomas, Jr.)
The Unflappable Irving Link (with Ferdinand Hauslein, Jr.)
Richard Barthelmess: A Life in Pictures
No one will ever forget the scene in D. W. Griffith’s Way Down East where Richard Barthelmess as David rescued Anna Moore from certain death on an ice floe as it was about to plummet over a waterfall. The exciting sequence still thrills audiences to this day. Richard went on to be nominated for an Academy Award as Best Actor for The Noose and The Patent Leather Kid, and he won an Academy Award Citation for "Special Achievement" in producing The Patent Leather Kid.
His signature roles are in many of D. W. Griffith’s silent films including Broken Blossoms, Scarlet Days, The Love Flower, and The Idol Dancer. Few people are aware that he was nearly felled by the chaos of Hollywood’s transition from silent to talking pictures when he used a voice double to sing for him in Weary River. Despite the setback, his transition to talking pictures and work in The Dawn Patrol, Cabin in the Cotton, and Only Angel’s Have Wings proved that his talent was enduring.
For the first time, the story is fully told how Alla Nazimova, a famous Russian star, plucked him from obscurity to play in her first film, and how his worldwide fame was nearly snuffed out when he followed America’s call to arms and gave up his movie career to assist in the fight against Nazi aggression in World War Two. Richard retired to a happy life as a senior citizen after appearing in more than 80 films, and this book reveals them with a richly researched biography, an extensive Filmography, and hundreds of rare portraits, posters, and lobby cards that capture the glamour of Hollywood’s Golden Era.
Published exclusively at www.bearmanormedia.com
For more information, contact:
Ben Ohmart books@benohmart.com
www.bearmanormedia.com
Other books by David W. Menefee
The First Male Stars: Men of the Silent Era
E-mail: books@benohmart.com
Internet: www.bearmanormedia.com
www.amazon.com (free shipping)
www.barnesandnoble.com
www.borders.com
www.walmart.com
Sarah Bernhardt in the Theater of Films and Sound Recordings
Internet: www.mcfarlandpub.com
www.amazon.com (free shipping)
www.borders.com
www.barnesandnobles.com
www.walmart.com
In Europe, order from:
www.eurospanonline.com
The First Female Stars: Women of the Silent Era
E-mail: orders@greenwood.com
Internet: www.greenwood.com
www.amazon.com (free shipping)
www.barnesandnoble.com
www.borders.com
www.walmart.com
Also coming in January 2010,
George O'Brien: A Man's Man in Hollywood
E-mail: books@benohmart.com
Internet: www.bearmanormedia.com
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