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Irene
Irene
	Trade advertisement
Directed by	Alfred E. Green
Written by	June Mathis; Rex Taylor; George Marion, Jr. (titles)
Based on	Irene; by James Montgomery
Produced by	John McCormick
Starring	Colleen Moore; Lloyd Hughes; George K. Arthur
Cinematography	Ted D. McCord
Edited by	Edwin Robbins
Music by	Harry Tierney; Joseph McCarthy
Distributed by	First National Pictures
Release date	February 21, 1926 (U.S.);
Running time	90 minutes
Country	United States
Language	Silent (English intertitles)
Budget	$1,500,000

The full film

Irene is a 1926 American silent romantic comedy film starring Colleen Moore, and partially shot in Technicolor. The film was directed by Alfred E. Green, produced by Moore's husband John McCormick, and based on the musical Irene written by James Montgomery with music and lyrics by Harry Tierney and Joseph McCarthy.

Plot

As described in a film magazine review,^[2] Donald Marshall becomes a partner in a modiste shop and insists that Madame Lucy be made its operator. Young Irish woman Irene O'Dare graduates from being a demonstrator in the store window to being a successful model. On the night of a big fashion show for society, Irene arouses Lucy's anger and is told to stay and watch the shop. Donald arrives and assures her that she will lead the show. Irene is a sensation, but her mother arrives and stops her promenade by taking her home. Donald follows and Irene is forgiven by her mother. Overhearing Irene confess to her mother of her love for him, Donald folds her into her arms.

Cast

Colleen Moore as Irene O'Dare
Lloyd Hughes as Donald Marshall
George K. Arthur as Madame Lucy
Maryon Aye as Helen Cheston
Ida Darling as Mrs. Warren Marshall
Edward Earle as Larry Hadley
Bess Flowers as Jane Gilmour
Betty Francisco as Cordelia Smith (uncredited)
Cora Macey as Mrs. Gilmour
Charles Murray as Pa O'Dare
Eva Novak as Eleanor Hadley
Kate Price as Ma O'Dare
Laurence Wheat as Bob Harrison
Lydia Yeamans Titus as Mrs. Cheston

Production

The scenes which were shot in Technicolor cost a total amount of $100,000. The total budget of the film was $1,500,000.^[1]

This was the fourth of five films, in three years, with Moore and Hughes starring in the lead roles. They also appeared together in The Huntress (1923), Sally (1925), The Desert Flower (1925) and Ella Cinders (1926).^[3]

This was the final film of actress Marion Aye, who started appearing on film in 1919 as one of the uncredited Sennett Bathing Beauties. She continued to work in vaudeville and committed suicide in 1951.^[4]

George K. Arthur plays a flamboyant gay man who works as a dressmaker named "Madame Lucy" and does not threaten the status quo despite making extravagant gestures.^[5] This characterization was also reviewed in the 1995 documentary film The Celluloid Closet.^[6]

Preservation

Irene exists with the Technicolor sequences intact.^[7]^[8]

References

^ ^a ^b Dutch film magazine Het Weekblad: Cinema & Theater No. 145
^ Elliott, Frank (February 27, 1926), "Pre-Release Review of Features: Irene", Motion Picture News, 33 (9), New York City, New York: Motion Picture News, Inc.: 1014, retrieved March 26, 2023 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^ "All Visual Works with both Colleen Moore and Lloyd Hughes". IMDb. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
^ Marion Aye Archived November 17, 2015, at the Wayback Machine at marionaye.blogspot.com
^ Russo, Vito (1987). The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies (Revised ed.). New York City: Harper Collins. pp. 36–37. ISBN 0-06-096132-5.
^ IMDb entry
^ Progressive Silent Film List: Irene at silentera.com
^ Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress, p. 90, c.1978 by the American Film Institute)

Bibliography

Jeff Codori (2012), Colleen Moore; A Biography of the Silent Film Star, McFarland Publishing, (Print ISBN 978-0-7864-4969-9, EBook ISBN 978-0-7864-8899-5).