Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Jason goes to the Niles Film Museum to see THE SOCIAL SECRETARY

And it was remarkably crowded. Who knew the Norma Talmadge fan club was so big!?

But first a couple of shorts:

WHEN A COUNT COUNTED (1912): Very early Thanhouser comedy. Mignon Anderson stars (she's forgotten now, but was one of Thanhouser's biggest stars in her day) as a young stenographer. Her boss sends her on vacation, but when a former client identifies her as a (gasp!) working girl, all the snooty muckety-mucks at the resort shun her so badly she wants to cut her vacation short and leave. That is, until her law clerk boyfriend shows up masquerading as a count to sweep her off her feet and show everyone what real class looks like.

CURSES (aka THE LAST SERIAL) (1925): A hilarious sendup of serial adventures starring Al St. John as the evil leader of a gang of thieves who steals valuable papers from an old guy, while threatening his daughter and her boyfriend.

And then the intermission, and the feature.

THE SOCIAL SECRETARY (1916): Norma Talmadge, who was normally a dramatic actress, stars as Mayme, a stenographer who is always chased by her employers. Meanwhile, a wealthy family has lost yet another social secretary to marriage, so they advertise specifically for an unattractive replacement. So Mayme uglies up--puts on glasses and plain clothes--and gets the job. But danger abounds, as a former boss might recognize her, or he might steal from the family. A nosy reporter (Erich Von Stroheim) causes trouble. And worst of all, she falls for the handsome son of the family.

Total Runing Time (estimated): 80 minutes
My Total Minutes: 168,607

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