FLESH AND BLOOD (1922) Lon Chaney, Edith Roberts & Jack Mulhall Crime Drama

Description

Vintage original 11x14 in. US lobby card
from the classic 1920's silent film revenge-themed drama,
FLESH AND BLOOD
, released in 1922 by Western Pictures Exploitation Company and
directed by Irving Cummings
. Based upon a story by Louis D. Lighton, a convict (Lon Chaney) hiding in Chinatown assumes the identity of a cripple to track down a businessman (Ralph Lewis) who framed him 15 years previously. He discovers that his daughter (Edith Roberts) has fallen in love with the businessman's son (Jack Mulhall).
The image depicts an interior shot inside the stock brokerage office of former convict David Webster (
Lon Chaney
), now posing as a cripple, as he shakes hands with Ted Burton (
Jack Mulhall
), the son of the man who framed him, while his daughter, Marjorie, AKA The Angel-Lady (
Edith Roberts
), smiles at the arrival of this handsome young man. The border artwork features two additional images of Chaney in his various personas as well as a photographic insert featuring a third image of Chaney, holding his crutches and standing outside of a prison cell with two wardens. It is unrestored in fine condition with a small crease on each top corner; a 1.5 in. diagonal crease with signs of wear on the bottom right corner; and light wear along the edge of the center of the right border. There are no pinholes, tears, stains, writing, or other flaws.
Western Pictures Exploitation Company, which distributed the independently-made
Flesh and Blood
, announced in an Oct. 20, 1922
Film Daily
advertisement, and in the Oct. 28, 1922
Exhibitors Trade Review
, that the “reputable production” was “widely booked” in first-run theaters in every major city. The film’s box office receipts “compared favorably with the foremost productions of the year.”
Part of the film was shot in Los Angeles’ old Chinatown section, later razed when Union Station was built in the late 1930’s. Although the nature of Fletcher Burton’s financial crime against David Webster is never discussed, the lettering on his office door describes his business as “Stocks & Bonds.” In back-to-back scenes, David Webster performs a melody on the violin for his daughter, “Marjorie—the Angel-lady,” and she sings the song at the piano with her fiancé, Ted Burton (Jack Mulhall). She refers to the Victorian parlor song as “Just A Song At Twilight,” but its real title is “Love’s Old Sweet Song.”