A Kiss in the Dark (1925 film)
{{short description|1925 film}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox film
| name = A Kiss in the Dark
| image = A Kiss in the Dark (1925 film).jpg
| alt =
| caption = Film poster
| director = Frank Tuttle
| producer = Jesse L. Lasky
Adolph Zukor
| screenplay = Townsend Martin (scenario)
| based_on = {{basedon|Aren't We All?
1923 play|Frederick Lonsdale}}
| starring = Adolphe Menjou
Aileen Pringle
Lillian Rich
Kenneth MacKenna
Ann Pennington
Kitty Kelly
Zeppo Marx
| music =
| cinematography = Alvin Wyckoff
| editing =
| studio = Famous Players–Lasky Corporation
| distributor = Paramount Pictures
| released = {{Film date|1925|4|6}}
| runtime = 60 minutes
| country = United States
| language = Silent (English intertitles)
| budget =
| gross =
}}
A Kiss in the Dark is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed by Frank Tuttle and written by Townsend Martin based upon a novel by Frederick Lonsdale. The film stars Adolphe Menjou, Aileen Pringle, Lillian Rich, Kenneth MacKenna, Ann Pennington, Kitty Kelly, and Zeppo Marx. The film was released on April 6, 1925, by Paramount Pictures.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/97859/A-Kiss-in-the-Dark/overview|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205075100/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/97859/A-Kiss-in-the-Dark/overview|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 5, 2015|department=Movies & TV Dept.|work=The New York Times|author=Hans J. Wollstein|date=2015|title=A-Kiss-in-the-Dark - Trailer - Cast - Showtimes - NYTimes.com|accessdate=February 5, 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=1&Movie=10097|title=A Kiss in the Dark|work=afi.com|accessdate=February 5, 2015}}[http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/K/KissInTheDark1925.html Progressive Silent Film List: A Kiss in the Dark] at silentera.com
Plot
As described in a film magazine review,{{Citation |title=New Pictures: A Kiss in the Dark |journal=Exhibitors Herald |volume=21 |issue=6 |pages=60 |date=2 May 1925 |url=https://archive.org/details/exhibitorsherald21unse/page/n723/mode/1up |access-date=25 January 2022}} {{Source-attribution}} a gay philanderer has one flirtation after another. When he really falls in love with a beautiful young woman, she refuses to take him seriously until he proves his fidelity by patching up a quarrel between a married couple, who are friends of the lovers.
Cast
{{Cast listing|
- Adolphe Menjou as Walter Grenham
- Aileen Pringle as Janet Livingstone
- Lillian Rich as Betty King
- Kenneth MacKenna as Johnny King
- Ann Pennington as Specialty Dancer
- Kitty Kelly as Chorus Girl
- Zeppo Marx in unknown role
}}
Legacy
This film is historically notable for the appearance of Zeppo Marx of the Marx Brothers. He is credited by his birth name, Herbert Marx. This was the only film in which Zeppo stars without his brothers. (His older brother Harpo made his solo film debut a three months earlier in the similarly titled Too Many Kisses.) Neither of the two recovered reels feature Zeppo, but Marx researcher Robert Moulton uncovered a 1925 review in an Ohio newspaper listing a credit for "...Herbert Marx, one of the Marx brothers in the 'I'll Say She Is' company." A review for the film from the New York Sun dated April 7, 1925 praises Zeppo's performance: "Miss Pennington and Mr. Marx have only brief appearances, but they make them count."{{cite web | last = Uhlin | first = Mikael | title = A Kiss In The Dark | work = Marxology | publisher = www.marx-brothers.org | url = https://www.marx-brothers.org/marxology/kiss.htm | accessdate = 2020-11-18}}
Preservation
A Kiss in the Dark was considered to be a lost film for decades, until two of its six reels were discovered by a private collector.[http://www.silentsaregolden.com/arneparamountpictures.html A Kiss in the Dark at Lost Film Files: Paramount Pictures - 1925] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150822130955/http://www.silentsaregolden.com/arneparamountpictures.html |date=August 22, 2015 }}[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.mbrs.sfdb.6694/default.html The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: A Kiss in the Dark]
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- {{IMDb title|0015980|A Kiss in the Dark}}
- {{TCMDb title|id=496637}}
- {{AFI film|10097}}
{{Frank Tuttle}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiss in the Dark (1925 film), A}}
Category:1920s English-language films
Category:1920s rediscovered films
Category:American black-and-white films
Category:American silent feature films
Category:English-language comedy films
Category:Films directed by Frank Tuttle
Category:Paramount Pictures films
Category:Rediscovered American films
Category:Silent American comedy films
{{1920s-silent-comedy-film-stub}}