The Cheerful Fraud

The Cheerful Fraud is a 1927 American silent comedy film directed by William A. Seiter and starring Reginald Denny, Gertrude Olmstead, and Otis Harlan. It was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures.^[1][2] It is based on a 1925 novel of the same title by British writer Kenneth Robert Gordon Browne.^[3]

The Cheerful Fraud
Directed by	William A. Seiter
Written by	Leigh Jacobson Sam Mintz Rex Taylor Harvey Thew William A. Seiter
Based on	The Cheerful Fraud by Kenneth Robert Gordon Browne
Produced by	Carl Laemmle
Starring	Reginald Denny Gertrude Olmstead Otis Harlan
Cinematography	Arthur L. Todd
Edited by	John Rawlins
Production company	Universal Pictures
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date	January 16, 1927 (1927-01-16)
Running time	70 minutes
Country	United States
Language	Silent (English intertitles)

The Cheerful Fraud 1927 advertisement

Plot

Sir Michael Fairlie pretends to be the new employee at the residence owned by the Bytheways, in order to spend time with their social secretary, whom he has encountered in a London rainstorm, . Meanwhile, a notorious crook turns up at the house pretending to be Sir Michael, with an eye on stealing family jewels. The confusion is compounded when a blackmailer also arrives.

Cast

• Reginald Denny as Sir Michael Fairlie
• Gertrude Olmstead as Ann Kent
• Otis Harlan as Mr. Bytheway
• Emily Fitzroy as Mrs. Bytheway
• Charles K. Gerrard as Steve
• Gertrude Astor as Rose
• Luis Alberni as Valet
• Wilson Benge as Butler

Preservation

The film is preserved at the UCLA Film and Television Archive.^[4]