(1927)
3
Bruce Eder
This is a sweet, spirited, fun little late-silent-era comedy, about romantic impersonation and multiple layers of subterfuge and mistaken identity. Director/producer William A. Seiter and editor John R. Rawlins (later a solid director in his own right, who helmed one of Reginald Denny's best sound-era vehicles, Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror) combine to give this romp among London's moneyed classes, social climbers, and upper-crust grifters a quick, spirited pacing. The movie is also helped immeasurably by the still-evident charm of Denny and leading lady Gertrude Olmstead, who turn in engaging performances, supported ably by Otis Harlan as her employer and Charles Gerrard as a thief who gets between the hero and heroine. Perhaps the funniest scene to modern viewers depicts Emily Fitzroy's Mrs. Bytheway lounging in her bedroom, laughing and smoking a cigarette as she reads Anita Loos's Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (which was released in a film adaptation the following year by Paramount).
Cheerful Fraud on AllMovie
Cheerful Fraud (1927)
