The Teaser

The Teaser is a 1925 American silent romantic comedy drama film written by Lewis Milestone, Edward T. Lowe Jr., and Jack Wagner based upon the play of the same name by Adelaide Matthews and Martha M. Stanley. The film was directed by William A. Seiter for Universal Pictures, and stars Laura La Plante, Pat O'Malley, Hedda Hopper, and Walter McGrail.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

The Teaser
1925 window card
Directed by	William A. Seiter
Written by	Edward T. Lowe Jr. Jack Wagner Lewis Milestone (adaptation)
Based on	The Teaser by Adelaide Matthews and Martha M. Stanley
Produced by	Carl Laemmle
Starring	Laura La Plante Pat O'Malley Hedda Hopper Walter McGrail
Cinematography	George Barnes
Production company	Universal Pictures
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date	May 24, 1925 (1925-05-24)
Running time	70 minutes
Country	United States
Language	Silent (English intertitles)

Plot

Ann Barton (Laura La Plante), a girl from a once-wealthy family, must make a living by clerking in a cigar store. There she meets and falls in love with James McDonald (Pat O'Malley), a cigar salesman. She is then adopted by Margaret Wyndham (Hedda Hopper), her rich and aristocratic aunt, who disapproves of James due to his crude manners. Wishing to break up the two, Aunt Margaret sends Ann away to finishing school. In response, Ann acts out publicly and embarrasses her aunt. In the meantime, James learns how to be a proper gentleman and wins her back through having learned good manners and a more dignified bearing.

Cast

• Laura La Plante as Ann Barton
• Pat O'Malley as James McDonald
• Hedda Hopper as Margaret Wyndham
• Walter McGrail as Roderick Caswell
• Byron Munson as Perry Grayle
• Vivien Oakland as Lois Caswell
• Wyndham Standing as Jeffry Loring
• Margaret Quimby as Janet Comstock
• Frank Finch Smiles as Jenkins
• Janet Gaynor (uncredited)

Reception

The New York Times felt there was no need to be overly enthusiastic about the films's plot or character portrayals: "it contains a silly, soulless lot of characters and a weird idea of drama." When they expanded on Pat O'Malley's character of the cigar salesman, they granted that while it would be reasonable for a salesman to be willing to push his wares, they questioned the script having his character be so naive as to press the issue when he is at the home of his girlfriend's benefactors attempting to impress them and win her heart, by writing "one does not expect James MacDonald to be such an utter fool as to stick cigars under the noses of guests in a pretentious mansion at a time he hoped to wage war on the heart of the pretty Ann Barton." And in speaking toward Laura La Plante's character, who is scripted as being "a sly little minx, who believes in uttering untruths when they help her out of a difficulty, even if they do reflect on other persons", they offered that "Miss La Plante is not particularly effective in this picture." They concluded "The story is a pathetic little thing which is not apt to interest many persons."^[1] Time Magazine offered that "The extraordinarily blonde Laura La Plante occupies herself genially enough in the title part."^[6]

Preservation

It is unknown whether any copies of this film exist,^[7] and it is considered a lost film.^[8]

References

1. Mordaunt Hall (June 15, 1925). "The Screen: The Manicure Girl & The Teaser". The New York Times. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
2. Clive Hirschhorn (1983). The Universal story. Crown. p. 50. ISBN 9780517550014.
3. The Saturday Evening Post. Vol. 198. Curtis Pub. Co. 1925. p. 52.
4. National Board of Review of Motion Pictures (1980). Films in review. Vol. 31. National Board of Review of Motion Pictures. p. 463.
5. American Film Institute (1997). Kenneth White Munden (ed.). The American Film Institute catalog of motion pictures produced in the United States, Part 1. The Teaser (Universal-Jewel): University of California Press. pp. 787–788. ISBN 0-520-20969-9.
6. Cinema: The New Pictures Jun. 22, 1925. Time. June 22, 1925. Archived from the original on February 19, 2012.
7. "The Teaser (1925)". silentera.com. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
8. Arne Andresen. "The Lost Films of Universal Pictures, 1925". silentsaregolden.com. Retrieved May 23, 2011.

External links

• The Teaser at IMDb
• Synopsis at AllMovie
• Still at silenthollywood.com