{{short description|1921 film}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2020}} {{infobox film | name = A Small Town Idol | image = A Small Town Idol (1921) - Ad 2.jpg | caption = Advertisement with Phyllis Haver, Dot Farley, and Ben Turpin | director = [[Mack Sennett]]<br>[[Erle C. Kenton]] | producer = Mack Sennett | writer = | starring = | music = | cinematography = Ernie Crocket<br>Perry Evans<br>J. R. Lockwood | editing = Allen McNeil | studio = [[Associated Producers]] | distributor = [[First National Pictures|Associated First National]]<br>[[Warner Bros. Pictures|Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.]] (re-release) | released = {{film date|1921|2|13}} | runtime = 70 minutes; 7 [[reel#Motion picture terminology|reels]] | country = United States | language = Silent (English [[intertitle]]s) | budget = | gross = }} '''''A Small Town Idol''''' is a 1921 American [[silent film|silent]] feature [[comedy film]] produced by [[Mack Sennett]] and released through [[First National Pictures|Associated First National]]. The film stars [[Ben Turpin]] and was made and acted by many of the same Sennett personnel from his previous year's ''[[Down on the Farm (1920 film)|Down on the Farm]]''. Sennett and Erle C. Kenton directed.<ref name="afi">''The American Film Institute Catalog Feature Films: 1921-30'' by The American Film Institute, c. 1971</ref><ref>[http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/S/SmallTownIdol1921.html ''A Small Town Idol'' at silentera.com]</ref>
The picture was Sennett's biggest undertaking to date, costing $350,000 and required over a year to make.<ref name="afi" />
==Plot== Sam (Turpin) leaves town after being falsely accused of a crime and becomes a film star in Hollywood working with actress Marcelle Mansfield (Prevost). He returns to his home town hailed as a hero where one of his films is shown in the theater. His rival Jones (Finlayson), who wants Sam's girlfriend Mary (Haver), frames Sam for the shooting of Mary's father. Just as the townspeople are about to lynch Sam, Mary arrives to prove Sam's innocence and the two are reconciled.
==Cast== *[[Ben Turpin]] as Sam Smith *[[James Finlayson (actor)|James Finlayson]] as J. Wellington Jones *[[Phyllis Haver]] as Mary Brown *[[Bert Roach]] - Martin Brown *Al Cooke as Joe Barnum *[[Charles Murray (American actor)|Charles Murray]] as Sheriff Sparks (credited as Charlie Murray) *[[Marie Prevost]] as Marcelle Mansfield *[[Dot Farley]] as Mrs. Smith *[[Eddie Gribbon]] as Bandit Chief *[[Kalla Pasha]] as Bandie Chief's Rival *[[Billy Bevan]] as Director *[[George O'Hara (actor)|George O'Hara]] as Cameraman *[[John J. Richardson]] as Screen Villain (credited as Jack Richardson) *[[Louise Fazenda]] as Theatregoer *[[Lige Conley]] as Minister (credited as Lige Crommie)
[[File:A Small Town Idol (1921) - 4.jpg|thumb|160px|right|Prevost and Turpin star in the western being shown in the town's theater]] ''uncredited performers'' *[[Heinie Conklin]] as Jester in movie *[[Ramon Novarro]] as Dancer (credited as Ramon Samaniegos) *Jane Allen as Minor Role *[[Andy Clyde]] as Minor Role *[[Harry Gribbon]] as Minor Role *Floy Guinn as Minor Role *Mack L. Hamilton as Minor Role *[[Harriet Hammond]] as Minor Role *[[Mildred June]] as Minor Role *Fanny Kelly as Minor Role *[[Marvin Loback]] as Minor Role *[[Don Marion]] as Minor Role *[[Kewpie Morgan]] as Minor Role *[[Derelys Perdue]] as Dancer *Gladys Whitfield as Minor Role
==Notes== * This was [[Ramon Novarro]]'s seventh film, where he was billed as Ramon Samaniegos. * Copies of the film exist in archives, such as [[Gosfilmofond]]. * In 1933 Mack Sennett cut the feature down to two reels, adding music, sound effects, narration, and a new title sequence with the credits printed in a book with portraits of the actors. [[Warner Bros.]] reissued the condensed Sennett version in 1939 as one of its "Broadway Brevities." The Telefeatures TV syndication firm reprinted it in 1960 as part of the "Nickelodeon Theatre" series, with new narration by [[Jim Backus]].<ref>''Variety'', April 6, 1960, p. 33.</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|A Small Town Idol}} *{{AFI film|id=12210|title=A Small Town Idol}} *{{IMDb title|0012702|A Small Town Idol}} *[https://archive.org/details/ASmallTownIdol1921-AbridgedWithNarration ''A Small Town Idol'' (1921) - abridged with narration] at [[Internet Archive]]
{{Erle C. Kenton}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Small Town Idol, A}} [[Category:1921 films]] [[Category:1921 comedy films]] [[Category:1921 American films]] [[Category:1921 English-language films]] [[Category:American black-and-white films]] [[Category:American silent feature films]] [[Category:English-language comedy films]] [[Category:Films directed by Erle C. Kenton]] [[Category:Films directed by Mack Sennett]] [[Category:Films produced by Mack Sennett]] [[Category:First National Pictures films]] [[Category:American silent comedy films]] [[Category:Surviving American silent films]] [[Category:Warner Bros. films]]