The Ghost Breaker (1922 film)
Encyclopedia
The Ghost Breaker is a 1922
American silent
film comedy based around haunted houses and ghosts. It was produced Famous Players-Lasky
and distributed through Paramount Pictures
. It was directed by Alfred E. Green and starred popular Wallace Reid
in one of his last screen portrayals. The story, based on the 1909 play The Ghost Breaker by Paul Dickey
and Charles W. Goddard
, had been filmed before in 1914
by Cecil B. DeMille
and Oscar Apfel
. It would be filmed again in the sound era as The Ghost Breakers
in 1940 with Bob Hope
and Scared Stiff(1953) starring Jerry Lewis
. This 1922 version is considered a lost film
.
1922 in film
-Events:* June 11 - United States première of Robert J. Flaherty's Nanook of the North, the first commercially successful feature length documentary film....
American silent
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
film comedy based around haunted houses and ghosts. It was produced Famous Players-Lasky
Famous Players-Lasky
Famous Players-Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company created on July 19, 1916 from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company -- originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays -- and Jesse L...
and distributed through Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
. It was directed by Alfred E. Green and starred popular Wallace Reid
Wallace Reid
Wallace Reid was an actor in silent film referred to as "the screen's most perfect lover".-Early life:Born William Wallace Reid in St...
in one of his last screen portrayals. The story, based on the 1909 play The Ghost Breaker by Paul Dickey
Paul Dickey
Paul Dickey , was an American playwright and silent screen writer. He wrote 17 films between years 1914 and 1953.He was born in Chicago, Illinois and died in New York, New York, aged 50....
and Charles W. Goddard
Charles W. Goddard
Charles William Goddard was a playwright and screenwriter.Goddard began writing Broadway plays before turning to film, adapting a number of his stage works to film. He wrote the script for the Pathé Freres film The Exploits of Elaine, which has been selected for preservation in the United States...
, had been filmed before in 1914
The Ghost Breaker
The Ghost Breaker is a 1914 drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and Oscar Apfel and based on the Broadway play of the same name by Paul Dickey and Charles W. Goddard. It is considered widely to be the first film of a long line based on the genre of haunted house horror...
by Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies...
and Oscar Apfel
Oscar Apfel
Oscar C. Apfel was an American film actor, director, screenwriter and producer. He appeared in 167 films between 1913 and 1939, and also directed 94 films between 1911 and 1927.-Biography:...
. It would be filmed again in the sound era as The Ghost Breakers
The Ghost Breakers
The Ghost Breakers is a comedy film directed by George Marshall and starring Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard. The movie was adapted by Walter DeLeon from the play The Ghost Breaker by Paul Dickey and Charles W...
in 1940 with Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
and Scared Stiff(1953) starring Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
. This 1922 version is considered a lost film
Lost film
A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...
.
Cast
- Wallace ReidWallace ReidWallace Reid was an actor in silent film referred to as "the screen's most perfect lover".-Early life:Born William Wallace Reid in St...
- Warren Jarvis, ghost breaker - Lila LeeLila LeeLila Lee was a prominent screen actress of the early silent film era.-Early life:Lila Lee was born Augusta Wilhelmena Fredericka Appel in Union Hill, New Jersey into a middle-class family of German immigrants who relocated to New York City when Lila was quite young...
- Maria Theresa, a Spanish heiress - Walter HiersWalter HiersWalter Hiers Walter Hiers Walter Hiers (18 July 1893 Cordele, Georgia, USA - 27 February 1933 Los Angeles, California, USA was an American silent film actor who died from pneumonia aged 39. In his twenty year career spanning from 1912 to 1932 he starred in 101 films. He was a particularly prolific...
- Rusty Snow, a colored servant - Arthur Carewe - Duke D'Alva, leader of ghosts
- J. Farrell MacDonaldJ. Farrell MacDonaldJoseph Farrell MacDonald was an American character actor and director. He played supporting roles and occasional leads. MacDonald, who was sometimes billed as "John Farrell Macdonald", "J.F...
- Sam Marcum, a Kentucky feudist - Frances Raymond - Aunt Mary Jarvis
- Snitz EdwardsSnitz EdwardsSnitz Edwards was a notable character actor of the early years of the silent film era into the 1930s.- Background and career on the stage :...
- Maurice