by Hal Erickson
synopsis
The Beautiful Cheat was a cute parody of the motion-picture business. Most of the story takes place in a fly-by-night movie studio run by the enterprising Abe Meyer (Alexander Carr). To save his company from bankruptcy, Abe builds a huge publicity campaign around his latest discovery, celebrated Russian actress Maritza Callahansky. Only Abe and his partners know that the divine Mlle. Callahansky is actually Brooklyn-born Mary Calahan (Laura LaPlante). The rest of the film concerns Mary's efforts to pull off her deception, which she does with considerable comic aplomb. The film was adapted from a serialized story in The Saturday Evening Post.
characteristics
- Assumed Identities
- Opal
- Party
- Owner
- Loot
- Home
- Island
- Player [sports]
- Return
- Superstar
- Swindle
- Shop
- Scam
- Girl
- Russia
