The Crowded Hour

The Crowded Hour is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by E. Mason Hopper and starring Bebe Daniels. It was produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is based on the 1918 Broadway play,^[1] The Crowded Hour, by Channing Pollock and Edgar Selwyn.^[2][3]

The Crowded Hour
Film Poster
Directed by	E. Mason Hopper
Written by	John Russell (scenario)
Based on	The Crowded Hour by Channing Pollock and Edgar Selwyn
Produced by	Adolph Zukor Jesse Lasky
Starring	Bebe Daniels Kenneth Harlan
Cinematography	J. Roy Hunt
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	April 20, 1925 (1925-04-20)
Running time	70 minutes; 7 reels
Country	United States
Language	Silent (English intertitles)

Plot

As described in a film magazine review,^[4] Peggy and her pal Matt Wilde are performers in a "Follies" act when Billy Laidlaw sees her and falls in love with her despite the fact that he is already married. When World War I comes, Peggy and her partner become "Y" entertainers in France where she meets Billy. Billy later starts for an ammunition dump, planning to destroy it before the Germans reach it. Peggy is working as a switchboard operator when she finds it a question of saving Billy or a platoon of French soldiers, she chooses the latter. Billy is then captured. Peggy is later blinded during an attack, and then discovers that her nurse is Billy's wife Grace. Peggy stoically resolves to forget Billy and make amends with her partner Matt.

Cast

• Bebe Daniels as Peggy Laurence
• Kenneth Harlan as Billy Laidlaw
• T. Roy Barnes as Matt Wilde
• Frank Morgan as Bert Caswell
• Helen Lee Worthing as Grace Laidlaw
• Armand Cortes as Captain Soulier (credited as Armand Cortez)
• Alice Chapin as Grand'Mere Buvasse
• Warner Richmond as Operator

Preservation

With no prints of The Crowded Hour located in any film archives,^[5] it is a lost film.^[6]

Lobby Card of the film