The Wise Guy

{{short description|1926 film by Frank Lloyd}} {{other uses|Wise Guy (disambiguation)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2020}} {{Infobox film | name = The Wise Guy | image = The Wise Guy (1926) - 1.jpg | caption = Advertisement | director = Frank Lloyd | producer = Frank Lloyd | writer = Adela Rogers St. Johns (adaptation)<br>Ada McQuillan (scenario)<br>George Marion, Jr. (intertitles) | story = Jules Furthman | starring = Mary Astor<br>James Kirkwood<br>Betty Compson | music = | cinematography = Norbert Brodine | editing = | distributor = First National Pictures | released = {{Film date|1926|5|23}} | runtime = 8 reels (7,775 feet) | country = United States | language = Silent (English intertitles) }} '''''The Wise Guy''''' is a 1926 American silent crime drama film produced and directed by Frank Lloyd and distributed through First National Pictures. Jules Furthman provided a screen story with scenario by Adela Rogers St. Johns. Mary Astor, James Kirkwood, and Betty Compson star.<ref>[http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/W/WiseGuy1926.html Progressive Silent Film List: ''The Wise Guy''] at silentera.com</ref><ref name="afi">{{cite web|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/13378-THE-WISEGUY |title=AFI Catalog of Feature Films: ''The Wise Guy'' |work=afi.com |access-date=April 20, 2026}}</ref>

==Plot== {{noplot|date=January 2024}}

==Cast== {{Cast listing| *James Kirkwood as Guy Watson *Mary Astor as Mary *Betty Compson as Hula Kate *George F. Marion as Horace Palmer *Mary Carr as Ma Palmer *George Cooper as The Bozo }}

==Reception== Because the Kirkwood character was a criminal posing as an evangelistic minister who performs marriage and burial ceremonies, the film was found by the New York Board of Censors to be sacrilegious and banned from distribution unless remade. The Board was also concerned by the number of times the name of the Deity appeared in subtitles spoken by the fake minister. First National estimated the cost of resolving the Board's issues to be an additional $50,000 above the initial cost of $175,000.<ref>{{Citation |title=1st Nat'l's ''Wise Guy'' Ordered Off by N.Y. State Censors - Cost $175,000 |journal=Variety |volume=83 |issue=5 |pages=4 |date=2 June 1926 |url=https://archive.org/details/variety83-1926-06/page/n39/mode/1up |access-date=29 April 2022}}</ref>

==Preservation== A complete 35mm nitrate print of ''The Wise Guy'' is held by the National Archives of Canada.<ref name=''LOC''>{{Cite web |date= |others= |title=The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: ''The Wise Guy'' |url=http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.mbrs.sfdb.2982/default.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124110427/http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.mbrs.sfdb.2982/default.html |archive-date=2022-01-24 |access-date=2026-04-20 |website=memory.loc.gov}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{commons category|The Wise Guy}} *{{IMDb title|0017569}} *[https://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/news-photo/the-wise-guy-poster-us-poster-from-left-betty-compson-james-news-photo/1137304526?adppopup=true Lobby card] at gettyimages.com *[https://www.silentfilmstillarchive.com/wise_guy.htm Still] at silentfilmstillarchive.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wise Guy, The}} Category:1926 films Category:1926 crime drama films Category:1926 American films Category:1926 English-language films Category:1920s rediscovered films Category:American black-and-white films Category:American silent feature films Category:English-language crime drama films Category:Films directed by Frank Lloyd Category:First National Pictures films Category:Rediscovered American films Category:American silent crime drama films Category:Surviving American silent films