{{short description|1921 film}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2020}} {{Infobox film | name = A Poor Relation | image = A Poor Relation (1921) - Rogers.jpg | alt = | caption = Will Rogers in ''A Poor Relation'' | director = Clarence G. Badger | producer = | screenplay = Bernard McConville | based_on = {{based on|''A Poor Relation''|Edward E. Kidder}} | starring = Will Rogers<br>Sylvia Breamer<br>Wallace MacDonald<br>Sidney Ainsworth<br>George B. Williams<br>Molly Malone | music = | cinematography = Marcel Le Picard | editing = | studio = Goldwyn Pictures | distributor = Goldwyn Pictures | released = {{Film date|1921|12|}} | runtime = 50 minutes | country = United States | language = Silent (English intertitles) | budget = | gross = }}
'''''A Poor Relation''''' is a 1921 American silent comedy film directed by Clarence G. Badger and written by Bernard McConville. It is based on the play ''A Poor Relation'' by Edward E. Kidder. The film stars Will Rogers, Sylvia Breamer, Wallace MacDonald, Sidney Ainsworth, George B. Williams, and Molly Malone. The film was released in December 1921, by Goldwyn Pictures.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2937/a-poor-relation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141217155057/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2937/A-Poor-Relation/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 17, 2014 |title=A Poor Relation (1921) - Overview |publisher=Turner Classic Movies |date= |access-date=September 30, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Janiss Garza |url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/poor-relation-v106361 |title=Poor Relation (1921) |publisher=AllMovie |date= |accessdate=September 30, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/11405 |title=A Poor Relation |publisher=Catalog.afi.com |date= |accessdate=September 30, 2018}}</ref>
==Plot== As described in a film magazine,<ref name="Herald">{{cite journal |title=Reviews: ''A Poor Relation'' |journal=Exhibitors Herald |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=63–64 |publisher=Exhibitors Herald Company |location=New York City |date=December 31, 1921 |url=https://archive.org/details/exhibitorsherald14exhi}}</ref> shabby and lovable old inventor Noah Vale (Rogers) shares his attic room with Rip (DeVilbiss) and Patch (Trebaol), two orphans he has befriended. His lifetime ambition is centered in an invention he has slaved to perfect. In the meantime he tries to keep Rip, Patch, and himself from starving by selling copies of ''The Decline and Fall of Rome'' door to door. He is dispossessed and Scallops (Malone), a neighbor's child, gives them shelter. Vale has a distant relative, a wealthy manufacturer by the name of Fay (Williams), and when he writes him for aid in putting the invention to market, Fay's daughter (Breamer) takes a deep interest in the case. Fay's partner Sterrett (Ainsworth) tries to steal a model of the invention, but returns it when he finds that it is worthless. Johnny Smith (MacDonald), secretary to Fay, is discharged but secures work at a newspaper, and gets a position for Vale as a column writer. Vale gives up inventing and when Johnny marries Miss Fay, they provide a home for Rip and Patch.
==Cast== *Will Rogers as Noah Vale *Sylvia Breamer as Miss Fay *Wallace MacDonald as Johnny Smith *Sidney Ainsworth as Sterrett *George B. Williams as Mr. Fay *Molly Malone as Scallops *Robert DeVilbiss as Rip *Jeanette Trebaol as Patch *Walter Perry as O'Halley
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{Commons category-inline}} *{{IMDb title|0012577|A Poor Relation}}
{{Clarence G. Badger}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poor Relation}} Category:1921 films Category:1921 English-language films Category:American silent comedy films Category:1921 comedy films Category:Goldwyn Pictures films Category:Films directed by Clarence G. Badger Category:American silent feature films Category:American black-and-white films Category:1921 American films Category:English-language comedy films