Jack Straw

Jack Straw follows an iceman named Jack who takes a job as a waiter so he can be near Ethel, the woman he admires. To win her over he pretends to be an Archduke from Pomerania, setting off a chain of comic misunderstandings when real nobility arrive and an old family mystery surfaces. Ethel's mother uncovers the deception, and Jack faces exposure and embarrassment, but the story keeps moving through reversals and courtly farce rather than dark consequences. The film keeps its tone light, focusing on social masks, class playacting, and the awkward charm of a man trying to rise above his station.

Released in 1920, the picture was directed by William C. deMille and credits Olga Printzlau, Elmer Harris, and W. Somerset Maugham among its creators, reflecting its origins in earlier stage material adapted for the silent screen. Robert Warwick headlines as Jack Straw, with Carroll McComas as Ethel.

Reliable box office records for many 1920 releases are scarce, and no definitive worldwide gross is documented for this title. As with many silent era comedies, contemporary commercial performance is not well recorded, so specific revenue figures are not available.

Because it leans on familiar comic devices like imposture and social climbing, the film has a modest presence in cinema history rather than a cult footprint. Film historians sometimes cite it as an example of how stage comedies were translated into silent film, and fans of early cinema reference it when tracing origins of mistaken identity plots in later romantic comedies.

Modern viewers interested in silent-era storytelling will notice themes of class, identity, and performative manners, plus a straightforward comedic rhythm driven by physicality and situational irony. Performances, especially Warwick's, aim for charm over complexity, and the picture rewards patience from viewers curious about how 1920s filmmakers handled adaptation, social satire, and light romance without spoken dialogue.