Twenty Dollars a Week

For the 1935 talkie, see $20 a Week.

Twenty Dollars a Week is a 1924 American silent comedy drama film directed by F. Harmon Weight and starring George Arliss, Taylor Holmes, and Edith Roberts.^[1][2] Ronald Colman, then a rising star, had a supporting role as Arliss's character's son. The film was long thought lost before a print was rediscovered in the Library of Congress collection.

Twenty Dollars a Week
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Directed by	F. Harmon Weight
Written by	Forrest Halsey
Starring	George Arliss Taylor Holmes Edith Roberts Ronald Colman
Cinematography	Harry Fischbeck(fr)
Production company	Distinctive Pictures
Distributed by	Selznick Distributing Corporation
Release date	April 12, 1924 (1924-04-12)
Running time	6 reels
Country	United States
Language	Silent (English intertitles)

In 1933, Arliss starred in a talkie remake, The Working Man, co-starring a young Bette Davis.

Plot

As described in a film magazine review,^[3] John Reeves, steel magnate, wagers with his son Chester that he can earn twenty dollars a week and live on it. He procures work in the office of William Hart's steel plant. Against her brother's wish, Hart's sister Muriel adopts a little boy. Hart evens up by adopting John Reeves as his father. Reeves foils James Pettison's plot to ruin Hart. Chester also makes good as a workman and wins the affection of Hart's sister. The father reveals his identity and takes Hart as a partner.

Cast

• George Arliss as John Reeves
• Taylor Holmes as William Hart
• Edith Roberts as Muriel Hart
• Wallie Howe as Henry Sloane
• Redfield Clarke as George Blair
• Ronald Colman as Chester Reeves
• Ivan F. Simpson as James Pettison (credited as Ivan Sampson)
• Joseph Donohue as Little Arthur
• William Sellery as Clancy, Restaurateur
• George Henry as Butler

Preservation

Prints of Twenty Dollars a Week are located in the Library of Congress and Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision (New Zealand Film Archive).^[4]