Clarence | |
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![]() A poster for the film from a newspaper. | |
Directed by | William C. deMille |
Written by | Clara Beranger (adaptation & scenario) |
Produced by | Adolph Zukor Jesse L. Lasky |
Starring | Wallace Reid Agnes Ayres |
Cinematography | L. Guy Wilky |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 7 reels; (6,146 feet) |
Country | United States |
Languages | Silent (English intertitles) |
Clarence (1922) is a silent comedy drama, based on a play by Booth Tarkington, produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed through Paramount Pictures. It was directed by William C. deMille and starred Wallace Reid in his penultimate screen appearance.[1]
In E.J. Fleming's 2007 biography of Wallace Reid, it is stated that many in Reid's neighborhood, including Rudolph Valentino, remembered that Reid kept the neighborhood awake playing his saxophone. It is not stated whether Reid was honing his skills for this film or just enjoying some leisure.
The father of a quirky family, the Wheelers, hires an ex-soldier, Clarence (Reid), as a handyman. Clarence falls for the family's governess, Violet (Ayres).
Mrs. Wheeler (Williams) suspects that Violet and her husband (Martindel) are carrying on, and Mrs. Wheeler begins to develop an attraction to Clarence. Hubert Stem (Menjou), Mr. Wheeler's avaricious private secretary, one day shows Mr. Wheeler an article about one Charles Smith, an army deserter, and insists that Clarence is in actuality Charles Smith.