The House That Shadows Built

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The House That Shadows Built
Produced byAdolph Zukor
Jesse L. Lasky
Production
company
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • July 8, 1931 (1931-07-08)
Running time
47 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The House That Shadows Built (1931) is a feature compilation film from Paramount Pictures, made to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the studio's founding in 1912. The film was a promotional film for exhibitors and never had a regular theatrical release.

The film includes a brief history of Paramount, interviews with various actors, and clips from upcoming projects (some of which never came to fruition). The title comes from a biography of Paramount founder Adolph Zukor, The House That Shadows Built (1928), by William Henry Irwin.

Marx Brothers segment[edit]

The film is best known for a six-minute segment starring the Marx Brothers (Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx and Zeppo Marx), with Ben Taggart playing Mr. Lee, Theatrical Producer, which was intended to promote their forthcoming 1931 film Monkey Business.

The segment, containing material which was never included in any other Marx Brothers film, is a re-working of the first scene of their first successful Broadway revue I'll Say She Is (1924),[1] which Groucho considered to have been the funniest work in the Brothers' career.

Except for some name changes and a few additional gags, the scene is nearly the same as the script used for the stage production. A few of the gags from I'll Say She Is were worked into the lobby scene in The Cocoanuts (1929), and a bit involving a series of Maurice Chevalier imitations was incorporated into the script of Monkey Business.

The Marx Brothers' segment is currently available as a special feature on the direct-to-DVD documentary film Inside the Marx Brothers, albeit in poor condition. Marx Brothers fans sometimes refer to this segment simply as I'll Say She Is, in light of its source material.

Scenes from silent Paramount films[edit]

Several films presented are now considered lost. The clips presented represent the only known surviving footage.

Year* Title Star(s) Notes Ref
1912 Queen Elizabeth Sarah Bernhardt Produced in France [2]
1913 The Prisoner of Zenda J. K. Hackett, playing a dual role [3]
1914 The Squaw Man Dustin Farnum [4]
1914 A Good Little Devil Mary Pickford One reel survives [5]
1915 Carmen Geraldine Farrar [6]
1914 The Call of the North Robert Edeson and Theodore Roberts [7]
1915 The Captive Blanche Sweet [8]
1917 Giving Becky a Chance Vivian Martin and Jack Holt Lost film [9]
1917 The Undying Flame Olga Petrova and Mahlon Hamilton Lost film [10]
1918 Huck and Tom Jack Pickford and Robert Gordon [11]
1915 The Cheat Sessue Hayakawa, Fannie Ward, and Jack Dean [12]
1916 The Heart of Nora Flynn Marie Doro [13]
1918 The Whispering Chorus Elliott Dexter, Kathlyn Williams, and Raymond Hatton [14]
1918 Battling Jane Dorothy Gish Lost film [15]
1918 Headin' South Douglas Fairbanks Lost film [16]
1917 The Little American Mary Pickford [17]
1918 The Squaw Man Elliott Dexter Survives incomplete [18]
1919 For Better, for Worse Gloria Swanson and Elliott Dexter [19]
1920 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde John Barrymore [20]
1920 Homer Comes Home Charles Ray [21]
1919 The Miracle Man Lon Chaney, Betty Compson, Thomas Meighan and J. M. Dumont Lost film [22]
1919 True Heart Susie Lillian Gish [23]
1919 Male and Female Gloria Swanson and Thomas Meighan [24]
1921 The Little Minister Betty Compson [25]
1919 The Roaring Road Wallace Reid and Theodore Roberts [26]
1920 On With the Dance Mae Murray [27]
1921 Sentimental Tommy Gareth Hughes and May McAvoy Lost film [28]
1921 The Sheik Rudolph Valentino and Agnes Ayres [29]
1922 Nice People Conrad Nagel, Bebe Daniels, William Boyd, and Wallace Reid Lost film [30]
1923 The Covered Wagon [31]
1924 Peter Pan Betty Bronson and Mary Brian [32]
1923 Wild Bill Hickok William S. Hart and Kathleen O'Connor [33]
1926 The Grand Duchess and the Waiter Adolphe Menjou and Florence Vidor [34]
1925 The Light of Western Stars Noah Beery, Billie Dove, and Jack Holt Lost film [35]
1923 The Ten Commandments [36]
1926 Behind the Front Wallace Beery and Raymond Hatton [37]
1924 Forbidden Paradise Pola Negri and Rod La Rocque [38]
1925 The Vanishing American Richard Dix [39]
1925 Varieté Emil Jannings and Lya De Putti Produced in Germany [40]
1926 Beau Geste Ronald Colman, Ralph Forbes, and Noah Beery [41]
1927 It Clara Bow [42]
1927 The Kid Brother Harold Lloyd and Constantine Romanoff [43]
1927 Underworld George Bancroft [44]
1927 Wings Gary Cooper, Charles "Buddy" Rogers, and Richard Arlen [45]
*Sorts in order presented in the film

Silent film performers in unidentified silent films[edit]

The Lon Chaney Sr. segment is one of only two short sequences which survive from The Miracle Man (1919). The other clip is featured in one of Paramount's Movie Milestone series, Movie Memories (1935), showcasing the studios' greatest achievements. This latter clip shows both a segment from the conclave in Chinatown as well as the healing scene which is in The House That Shadows Built. A nitrate print of Movie Memories is reportedly at the UCLA Film and Television Archive but has not yet been preserved.[46]

Then-current Paramount stars[edit]

The film moves on to show segments with Paramount players of the 1931–32 season, including George Bancroft, Nancy Carroll, the Four Marx Brothers, Charles "Buddy" Rogers, Clive Brook, Phillips Holmes, Sylvia Sidney, Eleanor Boardman, Frances Dee, Jackie Searl, Kay Francis, Judith Wood, Regis Toomey, Peggy Shannon, Jackie Coogan, Lilyan Tashman, Eugene Pallette, Anna May Wong, Juliette Compton, Stuart Erwin, William Boyd, Miriam Hopkins, Wynne Gibson, Jack Oakie, Ginger Rogers, Robert Coogan, Carmen Barnes, Charlie Ruggles, Richard "Skeets" Gallagher, Mitzi Green, Richard Arlen, Carole Lombard, Fredric March, Claudette Colbert, Paul Lukas, Tallulah Bankhead, Gary Cooper, Ruth Chatterton, Marlene Dietrich, and Maurice Chevalier.

These stars are announced as appearing in upcoming films, including some never produced or released by Paramount:

Scenes are shown that were shot for the following films:

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Coniam, Matthew (February 5, 2015). The Annotated Marx Brothers: A Filmgoer's Guide to In-Jokes, Obscure References and Sly Details. McFarland & Company. p. 65. ISBN 978-0-7864-9705-8. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
  2. ^ "Queen Elizabeth". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  3. ^ "The Prisoner of Zenda". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  4. ^ "The Squaw Man". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  5. ^ "A Good Little Devil". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  6. ^ "Carmen". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  7. ^ "The Call of the North". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  8. ^ "The Captive". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  9. ^ "Giving Becky a Chance". American Silent Feature Film Database. Library of Congress. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  10. ^ "The Undying Flame". American Silent Feature Film Database. Library of Congress. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  11. ^ "Huck and Tom". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  12. ^ "The Cheat". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  13. ^ "The Heart of Nora Flynn". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  14. ^ "The Whispering Chorus". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  15. ^ "Battling Jane". American Silent Feature Film Database. Library of Congress. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  16. ^ "Headin' South". American Silent Feature Film Database. Library of Congress. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  17. ^ "The Little American". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  18. ^ "The Squaw Man". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  19. ^ "For Better, for Worse". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  20. ^ "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  21. ^ "Homer Comes Home". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  22. ^ "The Miracle Man". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  23. ^ "True Heart Susie". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  24. ^ "Male and Female". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  25. ^ "The Little Minister". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  26. ^ "The Roaring Road". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  27. ^ "On With the Dance". American Silent Feature Film Database. Library of Congress. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  28. ^ "Sentimental Tommy". American Silent Feature Film Database. Library of Congress. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  29. ^ "The Sheik". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  30. ^ "Nice People". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  31. ^ "The Covered Wagon". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  32. ^ "Peter Pan". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  33. ^ "Wild Bill Hickok". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  34. ^ "The Grand Duchess and the Waiter". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  35. ^ "The Light of Western Stars". American Silent Feature Film Database. Library of Congress. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  36. ^ "The Ten Commandments". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  37. ^ "Behind the Front". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  38. ^ "Forbidden Paradise". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  39. ^ "The Vanishing American". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  40. ^ "Varieté". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  41. ^ "Beau Geste". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  42. ^ "It". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  43. ^ "The Kid Brother". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  44. ^ "Underworld". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  45. ^ "Wings". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  46. ^ "SilentEra entry".

External links[edit]

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