The Cohens and Kellys is a 1926 comedy film

Comedy film

Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...

 directed by Harry A. Pollard

Harry A. Pollard

Harry A. Pollard was an American silent film actor, director, and screenwriter who in total was involved in over 300 film productions...

 and starring Charles Murray

Charles Murray (actor)

Charles Murray , was an American film actor of the silent era. He appeared in 283 films between 1912 and 1938...

, George Sidney, Kate Price

Kate Price (actress)

Kate Price was an Irish-born American actress. She is perhaps best-remembered for playing the role of Mrs. Kelly in the comedy series, The Cohens and Kellys, made by Universal Pictures between 1926 and 1932. Price appeared in 296 motion pictures between 1910 and 1937.-Career:She was born Katherine...

 and Jason Robards Sr. The film is the first of the Cohens and Kellys film serials. The film is perhaps best known today as the subject of Nichols v. Universal Pictures Corporation

Nichols v. Universal Pictures Corporation

Nichols v. Universal Pictures Corporation, 45 F.2d 119 , was a cause célèbre by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on copyright infringement by non-literal copying of a dramatic work...

, a copyright

United States copyright law

The copyright law of the United States governs the legally enforceable rights of creative and artistic works under the laws of the United States.Copyright law in the United States is part of federal law, and is authorized by the U.S. Constitution...

 infringement case, in which Judge Learned Hand

Learned Hand

Billings Learned Hand was a United States judge and judicial philosopher. He served on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and later the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit...

 articulated the doctrine that copyright protection does not cover the characteristics of stock characters in a story.

Plot

As articulated in the Nichols case,

Cast

• Charles Murray
  Charles Murray (actor)
  Charles Murray , was an American film actor of the silent era. He appeared in 283 films between 1912 and 1938...
  
   - Patrick Kelly
• George Sidney - Jacob Cohen
• Vera Gordon - Mrs. Cohen
• Kate Price
  Kate Price (actress)
  Kate Price was an Irish-born American actress. She is perhaps best-remembered for playing the role of Mrs. Kelly in the comedy series, The Cohens and Kellys, made by Universal Pictures between 1926 and 1932. Price appeared in 296 motion pictures between 1910 and 1937.-Career:She was born Katherine...
  
   - Mrs. Kelly
• Jason Robards Sr. - Tim Kelly
• Olive Hasbrouck - Nannie Cohen
• Nat Carr - Milton J. Katz
• Robert Gordon - Sammy Cohen
• Mickey Bennett - Terence Kelly

Related films

The Cohens and Kellys was the first in a series of films featuring characters from the Cohen and Kelly families. It was followed by The Cohens and the Kellys in Paris (1928); The Cohens and Kellys in Atlantic City (1929); The Cohens and the Kellys in Scotland (1930); The Cohens and the Kellys in Africa (1930); and The Cohens and Kellys in Trouble

The Cohens and Kellys in Trouble

The Cohens and Kellys in Trouble is a 1933 comedy film starring George Sidney, Charlie Murray, and Maureen O'Sullivan. The film is the last in the Cohens and Kellys series, and the first director credit for George Stevens.-Cast:...

(1933).