| Behind the Front | |
|---|---|
_Window_Card_(cropped).jpg) Theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | A. Edward Sutherland |
| Written by | Monte Brice (adaptation) Ethel Doherty (screenplay) |
| Based on | The Spoils of War by Hugh Wiley |
| Produced by | Adolph Zukor Jesse Lasky |
| Starring | Wallace Beery Raymond Hatton |
| Cinematography | Charles P. Boyle |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date |
|
| Running time | 6 reels |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
Behind the Front is a 1926 American silent war comedy film directed by A. Edward Sutherland and starring Wallace Beery and Raymond Hatton. It was produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was based on the novel The Spoils of War by Hugh Wiley.
Plot
As described in a film magazine review, two men, enemies in civil life, enlist in the army during World War I at the behest of a young woman who tells each of them that she loves him. They become buddies and share a medley of mishaps behind the lines in France. They return to America and go to the young woman’s house. There they find her the central figure in a wedding. They maul her husband-to-be and leave. A small incident recreates their enmity towards each other and their private war begins again.
Cast
- Wallace Beery as Riff Swanson
- Raymond Hatton as Shorty McKee
- Mary Brian as Betty Bartlett-Cooper
- Richard Arlen as Percy Brown
- Hayden Stevenson as Capt. Bartlett-Cooper
- Chester Conklin as Scottie
- Tom Kennedy as Sergeant
- Frances Raymond as Mrs. Bartlett-Cooper
- Melbourne MacDowell as Mr. Bartlett-Cooper
- Jerry Mandy as Limburger Soldier
- Charles Sullivan as Soldier
- Gertrude Astor as French barmaid
Preservation
A print of Behind the Front is located in the George Eastman Museum Motion Picture Collection and UCLA Film and Television Archive.
See also
- An excerpt from the film appears in the 1931 Paramount promotional film The House That Shadows Built
- Gertrude Astor filmography
References
- The AFI Catalog of Feature Films: Behind the Front
- Progressive Silent Film List: Behind the Front at silentera.com
- "Hugh Wiley Biography".
- "New Pictures: Behind the Front", Exhibitors Herald, 23 (12), Chicago, Illinois: Exhibitors Herald Company: 67, December 12, 1925, retrieved December 1, 2022
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: Behind the Front
External links
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- 1926 films
- American silent feature films
- Films directed by A. Edward Sutherland
- 1920s war comedy films
- American black-and-white films
- American war comedy films
- Surviving American silent films
- 1926 comedy films
- 1920s American films
- Silent American comedy films
- Silent war comedy films
- 1920s English-language films
- English-language war comedy films
- 1920s silent comedy film stubs
- War film stubs