Public Be Damned Explained

Public Be Damned
Studio:	Public Rights Film
Distributor:	Select Pictures
Runtime:	60 minutes
Country:	United States
Language:	Silent English intertitles

Public Be Damned is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Stanner E.V. Taylor and starring Mary Fuller, Charles Richman and Chester Barnett. The film's negative portrayal of food hoarding at a time of increased shortages due to the American entry into World War I led to it being publicly endorsed by Herbert Hoover, who shot a prologue to introduce the film. It was followed shortly afterwards by a similarly-themed production The Food Gamblers by Allan Dwan.^[1]

Cast

• Mary Fuller as Marion Fernley
• Charles Richman as John Black
• Chester Barnett as Robert Merritt
• Joseph W. Smiley as Bill Garvin
• Russell Bassett as David Higgins
• Herbert Hoover as himself

Bibliography

• Frederic Lombardi. Allan Dwan and the Rise and Decline of the Hollywood Studios. McFarland, 2013.

Notes and References

1. Lombardi p.77