The Narrow Street

The Narrow Street
The Narrow Street
	Still with Matt Moore and Dorothy Devore
Directed by	William Beaudine
Written by	Julien Josephson
Based on	The Narrow Street; by Edwin Bateman Morris
Starring	Matt Moore
Cinematography	Ray June
Production; company	Warner Bros.
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date	January 11, 1925;
Running time	70 minutes
Country	United States
Language	Silent (English intertitles)
Budget	$74,000
Box office	$259,000

The Narrow Street is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed by William Beaudine and starring Matt Moore.^[2]

Plot

As described in a review in a film magazine,^[3] Simon Haldane (Moore), the underdog in the office of the Faulkner Iron Works is efficient but absent-minded. He is the butt of the office staff jokes, so retiring that he is afraid of his own shadow, and intensely afraid of women. Doris (Devore), seeking to escape from detectives, hides in Simon's house and the next morning he is shocked to find her. A sudden chill causes him to call the Doctor (Orlamond) for her, and this starts a fast rumor that Simon is married. All is up in the air when the office force calls in for a body. Doris has taken a liking to Simon, and breezy salesman Ray Wyeth (Butler) takes a liking to her. An office shake-up results in Simon being made the manager. Returning home, the maid tells Simon that the young woman left with Ray. He later thoroughly trounces Ray and, after answering a telephone call directing him to go to a certain hotel, there he discovers that Doris is the daughter of his employer. He sheepishly starts to leave when she saves the situation.

Cast

Matt Moore as Simon Haldane
Dorothy Devore as Doris
David Butler as Ray Wyeth
George C. Pearce as Edgar Deems
Russell Simpson as Garvey
Gertrude Short as Nell Mangan
Joe Butterworth as Office boy
Kate Toncray as Aunt Albina
Tempe Pigott as Aunt Agnes
Madame Sul-Te-Wan as Easter
William Orlamond as Doctor

Reception

According to Warner Bros. records, the film earned $219,000 in the United States and $40,000 in other markets.^[1] In 1930 it was remade as a talkie titled Wide Open starring Edward Everett Horton.

Preservation

While no prints of The Narrow Street are located in any film archives, a private collector reportedly has an incomplete copy.^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Warner Bros financial information in The William Schaefer Ledger. See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 1-31 p 3 DOI: 10.1080/01439689508604551
^ "The Narrow Street". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Baseline & All Movie Guide. 2016. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
^ Sewell, Charles S. (January 17, 1925). "The Narrow Street; Unusually Amusing Light Comedy, Fine Characterization and Human Interest Is Warner Production". The Moving Picture World. 72 (3). New York City: Chalmers Publishing Co.: 268. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
^ Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: The Narrow Street