A Lost Film is Available Again — On a Limited Basis

On June 28, 1999, the Paramount Theatre in Seattle presented, as part of its Silent Movie Mondays series, a preservation print of Frank Capra’s first film for Columbia Pictures. Dennis James, house organist of the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles, performed a score comprising popular songs from the late 1920s on the Paramount’s Wurlitzer pipe organ.

James noted in his introduction to the film that the 35mm print being presented was an interim preservation print duped from a 16mm original, with possible restoration by Sony Pictures Entertainment sometime in the future.

The state of the original 16mm print was generally good, with its defects ranging from shutter jitters to prolonged print scratches that will test the skills of preservation artists. The frame cropping of the 16mm print seemed to be close to that of the original 35mm frame dimensions. All of the title cards had generous neutral space surrounding the intertitles and characters’ heads were not cropped off due to bad 16mm reduction print duping.

That Certain Thing (1928) was the first of a series of several films Capra cranked out in the latter ’20s at Columbia Pictures, and ultimately it is nothing more than a sweet trifle. But despite his quick work and the film’s frugal production budget, Capra took this innocuous comedy material and infused it with his bright personality. Getting warm and winning performances from his cast was Capra’s forte, even this early in his career. Ralph Graves is an appealing hero and we especially liked Viola Dana's comedic performance in this film.

That Certain Thing still plays well to modern audiences — as the small but appreciative crowd in Seattle discovered — and we urge Sony Pictures to find the resources to restore this vital part of Frank Capra’s film legacy as they have recently have for The Matinee Idol (1928), the digitally-restored Capra silent film. The preservation status of That Certain Thing may well depend on the business The Matinee Idol does in revival theaters and how well it sells on home video.

To perhaps aid Capra enthusiasts who haven’t had an opportunity to see this film, a synopsis follows:

The film begins mother Maggie Kelly at the sink, and with Molly Kelly washing two boys in their humble apartment bathroom. Water dripping from the rinsed boys drips through the bathroom floor to the bedroom below, where a little dog watches the forming puddle. The puppy gets blamed for the puddle when its owner walks in.

Molly’s mother again suggests that Molly give up her dream of marrying a millionaire and marry a practical man like the trolley conductor (who never actually seems to be on the job), who has a crush on Molly. As Molly leaves for work, she makes it clear that she doesn’t like the conductor at all.

Molly is at her job at a cigar stand when a man buys an expensive box of cigars. Molly wonders aloud if he might be a millionaire, his being able to afford them. The man replies that his boss likes expensive cigars.

A.B. Charles Sr., millionaire owner of the ABC Restaurants chain, is complaining to his business assistant that his restaurants are cutting the sandwich meat too thick. They must cut it still thinner!

When A.B. Charles Jr. arrives home drunk after an all-night celebration, A.B. is fed up with his son’s party attitude. A.B. Sr. gives his son an ultimatum: Be back at five o’clock and I will tell you at which of my restaurants you’ll start to work.

Andy B. Charles Jr. runs into Molly on the street, literally. Her handbag is emptied on the sidewalk. He helps gather her things together and accidentally gives her his wallet among her things. She then gives him the brush off and boards a double-decker bus. He notices that she has left her handkerchief behind and pursues her in his car. He drives alongside the bus where she is riding on top.

Waiving her handkerchief, he catches her attention. She suggests he keep it and blow his brains out. He tosses the handkerchief to her inside a magazine. She throws the magazine back. Meanwhile, she discovers his gold stamped name “A.B. Charles Jr.” on his wallet. She knows the name as the son of a local millionaire when she sees an ABC Restaurant. She gets off the bus at a stop and gives him back his wallet, suddenly friendly.

As she turns to return to the bus, she feigns a twisted ankle to grab Andy’s attentions. He gets out immediately to help her into his car and he drives her home. At the door to her apartment building she agrees to go out with him that evening. She instructs him to honk loudly when he comes to pick her up.

Molly races through the building apartments, borrowing a dress, shoes and wraps to cobble together a dream date outfit. And she readies herself for the evening.

Andy arrives to pick her up and has his chauffeur honk several times. The whole building is rousted to their windows to see what the noise is about. Molly wants them all to get a good eyeful before she proceeds downstairs. She leaves the envious and disbelieving crowd of tenants (including the conductor, who is still not working!) as she proceeds out the building.

Andy and Molly go to an expensive restaurant, where Andy and Molly start falling in love. Unable to convince Molly to dance (her borrowed shoes are hurting her), Andy asks her to marry him. Disbelieving, she meekly agrees to marry Andy.

Molly calls her mother from a pay phone to give her the news of her just completed marriage to Andy. Her mother faints in the hallway of the apartment building and recovers from her swoon to announce to the onlookers that Molly found her millionaire.

Molly awakens the next morning to an empty hotel bed. She is not alone long, as her new husband arrives back at the hotel room with a train of delivery men bearing many wrapped gifts. Andy tips the delivery men as they leave and runs out of bills before the last man, who receives Andy's wallet as a concession.

A.B. Sr. hears of his son’s marriage and cuts his son off for marrying what he considers a gold digger. His father’s assistant, Brooks, suggests that things could be patched up with his father if Andy dumps the gold digger. Molly overhears this, sheds her new clothing and slips out of the hotel room to return home. Meanwhile, Andy runs off Brooks and discovers that Molly is gone.

The apartment house residents see Molly returning, drenched from her walk home in the rain. The borrowed clothing is ruined, and she is greeted with the epithet “gold digger!” Mother Maggie drives off the hecklers with a rolling pin.

Molly begins crying to her mother and explains that she left her husband for his own good, when Andy arrives at the apartment. Molly tries to convince Andy that she left him because he has no money — doesn’t he know that she’s a gold digger? Andy doesn’t buy the story and takes control of the situation, sending Molly and her mother off to bed while he settles down for the night in the living room with the two boys.

The next morning Andy and Molly go in search of a job for Andy. Molly convinces a ditch digging crew to take on Andy, then runs off promising Andy to come back with a wonderful lunch for him. Andy immediately punctures a water main with a pick and is already fired. Andy is sitting nearby the work site when noontime arrives and the workers pile into an ABC Restaurant across the street.

Andy notices that Molly is arriving with his lunch and runs off into the trench. Molly must dodge dirt being tossed out of the trench to get Andy’s attention. He breaks and they sit to have lunch together. Molly opens a shoebox tied with string and unpacks several sandwiches more than Andy could possibly eat in a sitting.

Meanwhile, a couple of workers leave the ABC restaurant and reach the worksite, complaining about those ABC lunches. One worker says they must slice their meat razor thin. Andy overhears this and offers them one of the sandwiches he can’t finish eating. A worker tastes the sandwich and approves heartily.

Andy gets a brainstorm. He asks the worker if he’d pay 50 cents for a sandwich like that. He sure would.

The foreman comes back across the street from the restaurant and, with Molly watching, he quits the job he has already been fired from.

The next day, Andy and Molly come back to the same worksite and sell box lunches to the workers. With all the lunches sold, Andy knows he's got a hot idea.

Several weeks later, the business has a storefront, delivery trucks and many employees. We see the production line care that goes into each of Molly’s box lunches, “The box lunch with a secret.”

Molly and Andy discuss the impending success of their venture. Molly, concerned, says that Andy has taken all the money they have made and plowed it back into equipment and they don’t have enough money to cover next week’s payroll. Andy, optimistic, says that she shouldn’t worry, that the business will explode anytime soon.

Across town, Andy’s father is complaining that recent sales are off 40 percent. He is informed that Molly’s business is cutting into ABC’s lunch trade. It becomes apparent that Molly’s must be bought out or crushed. A.B. Charles sets off to do just exactly that.

A.B. arrives at Molly’s to see a flurry of activity. He looks almost confused as he watches the production line. Andy sees his father and gets his attention. Andy informs A.B. that he is the bookkeeper of the business and that it is pulling thousands of dollars each day. A.B. wants to speak to the owner of the business.

Andy goes into the office where Molly is mulling over paperwork. He tells Molly that his father has come to buy out the business. She gets nervous. Andy tells her the time has come to soak the old man. Meanwhile, A.B. is outside the office inspecting one of Molly’s box lunches. Andy gives Molly some pointers and they dress her desk for the confrontation to come.

Outside the office, A.B. opens a box and tastes a sandwich, approving. Andy opens the office door and A.B. shoves what’s left of the sandwich into his pocket. A.B. is escorted into Molly’s office.

Andy introduces Molly to his father, but A.B. does not know that Molly is Andy’s wife. To A.B. she is the owner of his competition and his son’s boss. Andy leaves the office.

A.B. comes to the point of the visit. He is there to buy out her business. She, hiding her nervousness, asks A.B. how much he was thinking of. A.B. says $5000. Outside the office door window Andy is guiding her negotiations by gesturing her responses. Whenever A.B. catches her eye and looks toward the office door Andy quickly pulls down the window shade.

Molly was thinking of more money than that. How much? Andy lines up a chalk stick and several metal washers on the door window ledge to spell out 10000, then looks around frantically. Molly says, “Ten thousand dollars.” A.B. looks surprised and Andy frantically waives his hands looking for another ‘zero.’ He uses the loop on the end of the window shade drawstring to indicate $100,000.

Molly says she wants one-hundred thousand dollars. A.B. gets indignant and points out to Molly that he could duplicate her operation for a fraction of that amount and drive her out of business. Unflustered, Molly points out that he could duplicate her assembly line business but he does not have Molly’s secret.

Andy outside begins ringing the bell on the cash register one time after another so that A.B. can hear it. A.B. obviously sees dollars flying away before his very eyes and turns to Molly with a counter offer. Andy comes into the office carrying a heavy money bag and makes a point of plunking onto Molly’s desk near his father. Andy tells her that it is the morning’s earnings and leaves, she waives it off saying she doesn’t want to be bothered with petty change. A.B. watches in amazement, then buckles to her asking price of $100,000.

Pulling out his checkbook, A.B. writes Molly a check of $100,000 for her business. Andy comes back in and A.B. tells his son that he will write Andy a check for the same amount the day he marries a shrewd businesswoman like Molly. Andy and Molly immediately grab pens and both offer them to A.B.

The money bag spills a pile of metal washers over the desktop. A.B. discovers who Molly really is and knows he’s been taken by his son and new daughter-in-law. First flustered, then amused, A.B. gets up to leave. He stops at the office door to ask Molly and Andy, as an afterthought, just exactly what is the secret to Molly’s great box lunches. She holds up her finger and thumb wide apart and says, “Cut the meat thick.”

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