Old clothes

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Movie
Original title Old clothes
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1925
length 64 minutes
Rod
Director Edward F. Cline
script Willard Mack
production Jack Coogan Sr. for Jackie Coogan Productions distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
camera Frank B. Good
occupation

Old Clothes is an American film directed by Edward F. Cline from 1925 with Jackie Coogan and Joan Crawford , who made her first appearance here under her stage name and played her first major role. The film is a sequel to Coogan's film The Rag Man , which was released earlier in the year.

action

Tim Kelly and his friend Max Ginsberg, who have previously spent their lives as rag collectors, have made their fortune by buying copper stocks. However, one day the market collapses and both end up impoverished on the streets again. One day they meet the completely destitute Mary Riley and make her an equal partner in their business. Mary soon falls in love with Nathan Burke, but his bigoted mother rejects poor Mary and thus prevents lasting happiness. But then it turns out that Mrs. Burke comes from a poor background and that her great love at the time was Max Ginsberg. Just in time for the marriage of Mary and Nathan, the copper prices rise again and Tim and Max can live in wealth and without worries again.

background

In December 1924, Joan Crawford signed a seven-month contract with a weekly fee of 75 US dollars with the newly founded film company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer under her maiden name Lucille Le Sueur . Within a few months she managed to rise from extra to recognized supporting actress to leading lady .

The studio discovered her potential and moved the actress to change her name. As part of a competition, the stage name Joan Crawford was chosen for her. The actress had her first appearance as Joan Crawford later that year at the side of the then biggest child star, Jackie Coogan. Coogan had come to MGM through the Metro Film Company and had his own production company run by his father. In 1925, however, Jackie's career slowly began to fade as he was gradually getting too old to play child roles. Old Clothes was conceived as a sequel to his last big hit, The Rag Man , and Coogan repeated his role as Tim Kelly.

However, Crawford had to sacrifice all moral concerns for her first major role. At first she was only hired to teach Jackie Coogan the Charleston , but she caught the attention of Jack Coogan Sr., Jackie's father and executive producer at Old Clothes . He promised Crawford the role, but insisted on sexual favors in return, a not uncommon behavior at the time towards ambitious young actresses. For this quid-pro-quo relationship, the expression " cast couch " quickly became established . Crawford later called Coogan Sr. just "a dirty pig".

However, she found working with Jackie Coogan to be pleasant.

"Jackie Coogan stole" Old Clothes, "but his father gave me the part and insisted that I use the new name [Joan Crawford]. It wasn't such a bad movie. "

Reviews

The critics were quite taken with the film and with Joan Crawford.

The New York Times gave Crawford positive feedback:

"Joan Crawford is satisfying as Mary Riley and Max Davidson is superb in the role of Ginsberg."

Louella O. Parsons, later a good friend of Crawford's, was correct in her prediction in the New York Journal-American :

"The girl, Joan Crawford, is a discovery by Jack Coogan, Sr. She is very attractive and shows potential."

literature

  • Roy Newquist (Ed.): Conversations with Joan Crawford . Citadel Press, Secaucus, NJ 1980, ISBN 0-8065-0720-9 .
  • Lawrence J. Quirk : The Complete Films of Joan Crawford . Citadel Press, Secaucus, NJ 1988, ISBN 0-8065-1078-1 .
  • Lawrence J. Quirk, William Schoell: Joan Crawford. The Essential Biography . University Press, Lexington, KY. 2002, ISBN 0-8131-2254-6 .
  • Alexander Walker: Joan Crawford. The Ultimate Star . Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London 1983, ISBN 0-297-78216-9 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jackie Coogan stole "Old Clothes," but his father cast me in the film and insisted that I use the new name [Joan Crawford]. It wasn't really too bad of a picture.
  2. ^ Joan Crawford is satisfactory as Mary Riley and Max Davidson is splendid in the ro1e of Ginsberg.
  3. ↑ The girl, Joan Crawford, is a discovery of Jack Coogan, Sr. She is very attractive and shows promise.