Prince and the Pauper

[Mark Twain (original novel); Edwin S. Porter (director); Hugh Ford (screenwriter); Marguerite Clark (starring)]. The Prince and the Pauper. New York: Capitol Theatre, August 13th, [1922]. Original handbill for a week-long run of the second silent adaptation of The Prince and the Pauper, originally released in 1915. Octavo (7 x 9.125 inches; 175 x 232 mm.). Single leaf, printed both sides with screening information on the recto and a collage with three images from the film and a quote from S. L. ("Roxy") Rothafel on the verso. Margins a little wrinkled with a couple soft creases in the corners; two faint fox marks on the recto and just a hint of soiling on the verso. Near fine.

The Prince and the Pauper was initially adapted as a two-reel Edison production in 1909. Famous Players Lasky revisited the source material in 1915, releasing a five-reel feature that November, when feature-length film making was less than two years old in the United States. It starred Marguerite Clark in a dual role. By 1922, the conventional shelf-life of a silent film made in 1915 would have long expired, likely to be melted down for silver (why most films form the silent era are lost). Many of the films from major studios that survived did so because they were hits, continuously in demand, or because they were forgotten about by the end of their distribution runs, either could have been reason enough to book something for a theatre manager as creative as Roxy Rothafel (who later opened the Roxy and Radio City Music Hall in New York). The Capitol Theatre opened in October 1919. "Progressive Silent Film List," silentera.com. (#10289).