I was surprised to see the 1928 silent "Naughty Baby", a Mervyn Le Roy directed film starring Alice White from First National, at Capitolfest. The 2017 Capitolfest team managed to assemble enough of the Vitaphone score to give the organist something to go on in composing the accompaniment.
For years this film has been listed as lost, and "Broadway Babies" was long considered the earliest existing Mervyn Le Roy directed film. This was better than White's talking films and there are quite a few funny moments.
Alice plays hat check girl Rosalind at a fancy hotel when she spots wealthy young Terry Vandeveer (Jack Mulhall). She sets her cap for him, but that means he can't know she's a hat check girl, and her attempts to not let him know get her fired. She makes him think she is a society girl by getting her three actual suitors humorously played by Benny Rubin, George E. Stone and Andy Devine to supply her with gowns, fancy bathing suits, furs, jewels, and elegant transportation, purloined from their own places of business. However, it could be that Terry has some problems of his own, as his checks begin to bounce.
Thelma Todd plays a gold digger, but it's not like Alice's motives are pure as the driven snow either. I guess the difference is Thelma intends to use blackmail to get Terry and Alice's character is actually trying to get him to fall in love with her.
Best moment: Alice's character and Terry "accidentally" run into each other at the beach and decide to take a swim. What Alice doesn't know is that the suit that Benny Rubin got for her is not really meant to swim in, and it comes off completely in the middle of their swim.
It's really a cute way to pass an hour and go back to those roaring 20s. I'd give it a whirl if it ever comes your way.
