| ~Two Flaming Youths~ 1927 |
| ~Plot Synopsis~ |
Although the silent W.C. Fields vehicle Two Flaming Youths no longer exists, a surviving script (titled
Side Show) offers a tantalizing peek at this long-lost effort. Fields is cast as Gabby Gilfoil, owner of
"Gilfoil's Nonpareil Circus," a dog-and-pony operation that must forever stay one step ahead of sheriffs
and creditors. Fleeing across the border to Arkosa county, Gabby and his entourage stop over at the
Mansion House, a near-bankrupt hotel run by Madge Marlarkey (Cissie Fitzgerald). To avoid paying his
bill, Gabby pays court to Madge, only to find a formidable rival in Sheriff Ben Holden (Chester Conklin).
Meanwhile, Gabby's daughter Mary (Mary Brian) is romanced by Holden's young cousin Tony (Jack
Luden). Mary decides to settle down in Arkosa with Tony, prompting Gabby to pop the question to
Madge -- but she has announced that she will marry the man who is able to pay her mortgage. Gabby and
Holden spend the rest of the picture trying to raise the necessary funds to wed Madge, an effort
complicated when Gabby is mistaken for a desperate criminal. A collection of themes and comic notions
that would later be refined in such Fields talkies as The Old Fashioned Way and You Can't Cheat an
Honest Man, Two Flaming Youths would be worth seeing again if only to watch the glittering parade of
"guest stars," all of them vaudeville, Broadway and Hollywood headliners: Clark and McCullough, Moran
and Mack, Kolb and Dill, Savoy and Brennan, Benny and McNulty, Phil Baker and Sid Silvers, Wallace
Beery and Raymond Hatton, Jack Pearl and Ben Bard, and The Duncan Sisters.
Plot Synopsis from allmovie.com
Side Show) offers a tantalizing peek at this long-lost effort. Fields is cast as Gabby Gilfoil, owner of
"Gilfoil's Nonpareil Circus," a dog-and-pony operation that must forever stay one step ahead of sheriffs
and creditors. Fleeing across the border to Arkosa county, Gabby and his entourage stop over at the
Mansion House, a near-bankrupt hotel run by Madge Marlarkey (Cissie Fitzgerald). To avoid paying his
bill, Gabby pays court to Madge, only to find a formidable rival in Sheriff Ben Holden (Chester Conklin).
Meanwhile, Gabby's daughter Mary (Mary Brian) is romanced by Holden's young cousin Tony (Jack
Luden). Mary decides to settle down in Arkosa with Tony, prompting Gabby to pop the question to
Madge -- but she has announced that she will marry the man who is able to pay her mortgage. Gabby and
Holden spend the rest of the picture trying to raise the necessary funds to wed Madge, an effort
complicated when Gabby is mistaken for a desperate criminal. A collection of themes and comic notions
that would later be refined in such Fields talkies as The Old Fashioned Way and You Can't Cheat an
Honest Man, Two Flaming Youths would be worth seeing again if only to watch the glittering parade of
"guest stars," all of them vaudeville, Broadway and Hollywood headliners: Clark and McCullough, Moran
and Mack, Kolb and Dill, Savoy and Brennan, Benny and McNulty, Phil Baker and Sid Silvers, Wallace
Beery and Raymond Hatton, Jack Pearl and Ben Bard, and The Duncan Sisters.
Plot Synopsis from allmovie.com
| Directed by: John Waters Written by: John W. Conway - titles Donald Davis - writer Percy Heath - screenplay & story Grover Jones - uncredited Julien Josephson - uncredited Herman J. Mankiewicz - titles Norman Z. McLeod - uncredited Eddie Moran - uncredited Gilbert Pratt - uncredited |
| ~Cast~ W.C. Fields ... Gabby Gilfoil Chester Conklin ... Sheriff Ben Holden Mary Brian ... Mary Gilfoil Jack Luden ... Tony Holden George Irving ... Simeon Trott Cissy Fitzgerald ... Madge Malarkey James Quinn ... Slippery Sawtelle (as Jimmy Quinn) Ben Bard ... Himself (as Pearl and Bard) Jay Brennan ... Himself (as Savoy and Brennan) Bobby Clark ... Himself (as Clark & McCullough) Max Dill ... Himself (as Kolb and Dill) Vivian Duncan ... Herself (as The Duncan Sisters) Lew Fields ... Himself (as Weber and Fields) Clarence Kolb ... Himself (as Kolb and Dill) (as C. William Kolb) Charles Mack ... Himself (as Moran and Mack) Anna Magruder ... The Fat Lady Paul McCullough ... Himself (as Clark & McCullough) George Moran ... Himself (as Moran and Mack) Chester Morton ... The Human Pin Cushion Lee W. Parker ... The Tattooed Man Jack Pearl ... Himself (as Pearl and Bard) Billy Platt ... The Dwarf (as William Platt) Stanley Rogers ... Savoy (as Savoy & Brennan) (as Savoy) John Seresheff ... The Strong Man Joe Weber ... Himself (as Weber and Fields) John Aasen ... The Giant (uncredited) Pearl and Bard ... Themselves (uncredited) Wallace Beery ... Himself - Beery & Hatton (uncredited) Savoy and Brennan ... Themselves (uncredited) Rosetta Duncan ... The Duncan Sisters (uncredited) Raymond Hatton ... Himself (as Beery and Hatton) (uncredited) Benny and McNulty ... Themselves (uncredited) Baker and Silvers ... Baker and Silvers (uncredited) |
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| ~675-11: Chester Conklin~ |
| ~Chester Conklin~ |
| ~Unknown child actor & Chester Conklin~ |
| ~Remaining Credits~ Production Company: Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation Released by: Paramount Pictures Executive Producer: Jesse L. Lasky Executive Producer: Adolph Zukor Producer: John Waters Cinematography by: H. Kinley Martin Film Editing by: Rose Loewinger (uncredited) Stunts: John Sinclair (uncredited) Supervisor: Louis D. Lighton Length: 6 Reels Runtime: 55 Minutes Released: December 17, 1927 |
Other Links That You Might Find Helpful to you for this film:
imdb.com - general information (data base form)
allmovie.com - plot synopsis
tcm.com - general information also including plot synopsis
afi.com - credits and plot synopsis
imdb.com - general information (data base form)
allmovie.com - plot synopsis
tcm.com - general information also including plot synopsis
afi.com - credits and plot synopsis
| ~W. C. Fields~ |