New Brooms

New Brooms is a 1925 American silent romantic comedy[3] film, directed by William C. deMille, and starring Bessie Love, Neil Hamilton, and Phyllis Haver. It was produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is based on Frank Craven's 1924 Broadway play of the same name.[4][5][6]

New Brooms
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Directed byWilliam C. deMille
Written byClara Beranger (scenario)
Based onNew Brooms: a Comedy in Three Acts (play)
by Frank Craven[1][2]
Produced byAdolph Zukor
Jesse Lasky
StarringBessie Love
Neil Hamilton
Phyllis Haver
CinematographyL. Guy Wilky
Production
company
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • October 12, 1925 (1925-10-12) (U.S.)
Running time
6 reels; 5,443 feet[3]
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent (English intertitles)

The film is presumed lost.[7]

Plot

The wealthy Bates family owns a profitable broom factory, but father Thomas Sr. (McWade) is criticized by son Thomas Jr. (Hamilton) for his outdated methods of running the family business. Thomas Sr. agrees to let his son run the business for a year.

The family also takes in Geraldine Marsh (Love), the daughter of a family friend, who has fallen on hard times. Thomas Jr. falls for Geraldine, and breaks off his engagement to Florence Levering (Haver), but then suspects that his father is also in love with Geraldine, and sends his father and Geraldine away.

After his year of managing the company has ended, he has been proven to be an unsuccessful businessman. His father and Geraldine are allowed to return, and when he sees that they were never in love, he marries Geraldine, and returns control of the factory to his father.[1][3]

Cast

Release and reception

Because of the name of the film, theaters reported having some difficulty getting audiences into theaters without incorporating broom-themed displays.[8] Such displays did seem to prove successful.[9][10][11]

The film did, however, receive positive reviews.[8]

References
  1. Munden, Kenneth W., ed. (1971). The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films 1921–1930. New York: R.R. Bowker Company. p. 540. OCLC 664500075.
  2. Craven, Frank (1925). New Brooms: a Comedy in Three Acts. New York, NY: Samuel French, Inc. OCLC 3209381.
  3. "Pre-Release Reviews of Features". Motion Picture News. October 24, 1925. p. 1946.
  4. Bennett, Carl (June 20, 2011). "Progressive Silent Film List: New Brooms". Silent Era.
  5. "New Brooms as produced on Broadway at the Fulton Theatre, November 17, 1924, 88 performances". IBDb.com.
  6. "Paramount Pictures 1925–29". Arne Andersen's Lost Film Files. Archived from the original on June 11, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  7. "American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: New Brooms". The Library of Congress.
  8. Van Buren Powell, A., ed. (December 5, 1925). "Straight from the Shoulder Reports". Moving Picture World. p. 446.
  9. "Newest Brooms". Moving Picture World. November 21, 1925. p. 256.
  10. "Rodney Bush Used Compo Bord for His New Brooms". Moving Picture World. December 19, 1925. p. 666.
  11. "Making a Clean Sweep with New Brooms for New Brooms". Moving Picture World. December 26, 1925. p. 803.
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