Raymond Griffith

[Rob Farr]

Here's a list surviving prime Griffith features (and his one surviving "raspie" short) that I've seen.

White Tiger (1923)
Changing Husbands (1924)
Open All Night (1924)
Miss Bluebeard (1925)
Paths to Paradise (1925)
The Night Club (1925)
Hands Up! (1926)
Trent's Last Case (1929)
The Sleeping Porch (1929)
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

A couple of survivors that I've yet to see:
Red Lights (1923)
You'd be Surprised (1926)

[Brent Walker]

Here's a list surviving prime Griffith features (and his one surviving "raspie" short) that I've seen.

White Tiger (1923)
Changing Husbands (1924)
Open All Night (1924)
Miss Bluebeard (1925)
Paths to Paradise (1925)
The Night Club (1925)
Hands Up! (1926)
Trent's Last Case (1929)
The Sleeping Porch (1929)
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

A couple of survivors that I've yet to see:
Red Lights (1923)
You'd be Surprised (1926)

Richard or Bruce Calvert will probably have more, but other survivors I've seen are:
POISONED PARADISE (1924) - a supporting role in a pre-Paramount film also featuring an early Clara Bow
LOVE, HONOR AND BEHAVE (1920) - a small part in the Sennett feature

Surviving 1916 Keystone shorts:
THE SURF GIRL
A SCOUNDREL'S TOLL

Surviving 1917 Triangle Comedy:
HIS FOOTHILL FOLLY

Surviving 1917 Foxfilm Comedy:
AN AERIAL JOYRIDE

I think Ed Watz said he saw the other "raspie" short POST MORTEMS on New York TV in the 1970's--no prints known to currently circulate

[Brent Walker]

By the way, YOU'D BE SURPRISED--which Richard showed at this year's Midwinter Comedy Festival--might be my favorite of his starring ones, besides PATHS TO PARADISE and HANDS UP. It benefits from titles by Robert Benchley and a scenario by Jules Furthman.

[David B Pearson]

Here's a list surviving prime Griffith features (and his one surviving "raspie" short) that I've seen.

White Tiger (1923)
Changing Husbands (1924)
Open All Night (1924)
Miss Bluebeard (1925)
Paths to Paradise (1925)
The Night Club (1925)
Hands Up! (1926)
Trent's Last Case (1929)
The Sleeping Porch (1929)
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

A couple of survivors that I've yet to see:
Red Lights (1923)
You'd be Surprised (1926)

Richard or Bruce Calvert will probably have more, but other survivors I've seen are:
POISONED PARADISE (1924) - a supporting role in a pre-Paramount film also featuring an early Clara Bow
LOVE, HONOR AND BEHAVE (1920) - a small part in the Sennett feature

Surviving 1916 Keystone shorts:
THE SURF GIRL
A SCOUNDREL'S TOLL

Surviving 1917 Triangle Comedy:
HIS FOOTHILL FOLLY

Surviving 1917 Foxfilm Comedy:
AN AERIAL JOYRIDE

I think Ed Watz said he saw the other "raspie" short POST MORTEMS on New York TV in the 1970's--no prints known to currently circulate

I'm impressed, and happy to learn so many of his films survived... far more that I'd hoped to think.
But as I said, if I didn't think much of "Hands Up!" which is one of the two films people seem to be pushing... well... I'll need to see more of others as well.

[Rob Farr]

Unlike most of the personality comedians, Griffith always works best when he is paired with a strong female co-star, as is the case with Paths to Paradise and The NIght Club. IMO these are his two best, so seek these out any you may be a Ray Griffith fan for life.

[Steve Massa]

MoMA also has a beautiful print of WHEN WINTER WENT ('25) a feature directed by Griffith's pal Reggie Morris, that looks like it was put together with footage from Morris' early 20s Speed Comedies. Scenes with Charlotte Merriam, Jack Duffy and Eddie Baker are linked together by a framing device that has Raymond Griffith trying to write stories. It's pretty interesting, but kind of ragtag, and Jack Duffy's not completely toothless - he has one tooth right in the front. Looks very strange (and kind of disgusting).

You know Dave this may be a case of the old "one man's meat is another man's poison." I mean, I think Griffith's wonderful, but maybe you just don't find him funny.

[Bruce Calvert]

While I don't think that Raymond Griffith was a comedic genius like Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd, or Laurel and Hardy, he was certainly a very inventive comedian and writer. After you have seen many comedies with similar clown dressed in strange clothes, I think that his character comes across as very inventive. It not just that he wears a top hat and tails most of the time, because he tries to use his brains to think himself out of his predicament.

Hands Up is very funny, but I'm with Richard and others in thinking that Paths to Paradise is even better. One big reason that it is better is that Betty Compson is a great co-conspirator for the film. It doesn't hurt to have Edgar Kennedy as a bumbling detective in the film either.

Not a lot of Raymond Griffith survives, and the shorts have a worse survival rate than the features. One of Griffith's great talents was to liven up an otherwise dull film. So while Open All Night has some farce comedy and some melodrama too, Griffith's scenes are easily the highlight of the film. It was a wasted opportunity to have Gale Henry in the film and Griffith not do much with her.

Miss Bluebeard is also a Paramount B-picture comedy all the way. I especially hate it because the two male leads are so bland that they are difficult to tell apart. Griffith manages to inject some great comedy just by having his character try to take a nap.

Griffith appeared in quite a few dramas, sometimes as comic relief and sometimes even as a villain.

Since most Griffith films were for silent films for Paramount, he has been very ill-served on the DVD front. Three other good films that you pretty much have to catch at a festival are You'd Be Surprised and Changing Husbands and Red Lights.

The films that I know that exist are:
Shorts:
Gertie's Joy Ride (1915) [at BFI, first known film]
Under New Management (1915) [at BFI]
A Scandal at Sea (1915) [at BFI]
Ready For Reno (1915) [at MOMA]
How Stars Are Made (1916) [at BFI]


The Surf Girl (1916) Sennett

The Scoundrel's Toll Sennett (1916)
His Foothill Folly Triangle Komedy (1917) I have this on 16mm.


An Aerial Joyride (1917) at UCLA


The Sleeping Porch (1929) [sound, I have this on 16mm.]

Features:
Love, Honor, & Behave (1920) [incomplete, unbilled appearance] a have a video of this thanks to Richard Roberts


The Eternal Three (1923) [drama, Serge Bromberg in France has a nitrate of this.]
Souls For Sale (1923) [drama, cameo appearance on the set of The Eternal Three, has been screened on TCM]


Red Lights (1923)


White Tiger (1923) [drama, availabe from PD DVD sellers]


Open All Night (1924) [ available from Grapevine]


Changing Husbands (1924)
Poisoned Paradise (1924) [small part in a Clara Bow film, shown at Cinecon]


Miss Bluebeard (1925)


The Night Club (1925)
When Winter Went (1925) [compilation of early 1920s shorts into a feature]


Paths to Paradise (1925) [last reel missing, I have a 16mm print of this]


Hands Up! (1926)



You'd Be Surprised (1926)
Trent's Last Case (1929) [reel missing]


All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) [available from Universal Home Video]

[Louie Despres]

RED LIGHTS is pretty terrible EXCEPT for the Raymond Griffith parts.

[David B Pearson]

Unlike most of the personality comedians, Griffith always works best when he is paired with a strong female co-star, as is the case with Paths to Paradise and The NIght Club. IMO these are his two best, so seek these out any you may be a Ray Griffith fan for life.

On your advice, I bought a DVD of Paths to Paradise, and it came today.

I watched it... and well... I'll try to find The Night Club.

DBP

[Bruce Calvert]

If you didn't like Paths to Paradise or Hands Up!, then I doubt that you will like any of his other features. The Night Club does have Wallace Beery as a villain, but it's still a pretty low budget feature.



Incidentally, there is no "night club" in The Night Club, although one title does make an awkward reference to one. Kevin Brownlow says that Paramount had already announced and sold a film with that title to theater owners, and was contractually obligated to deliver a film with that title.

Another Griffith film was titled A Regular Fellow, although every piece of publicity that I have has the title He's a Prince. It's a lost film, so we'll never know what title was really on the credits.
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