YOU'D BE SURPRISED (United States, 1926, Arthur Rosson)

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Raymond Griffith is one of the best kept secrets of silent comedy. During a 25-year career, he not only wrote, directed and produced movies, but was also the star of nine comedy features for Paramount Pictures. Eminent critic Walter Kerr once remarked that Griffith belonged in the pantheon of such legendary screen comedians as Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, and Harry Langdon.

Yet, because of the disappearance and lack of availability of his work, Griffith has been largely forgotten. Therefore, GME is proud to digitally distribute the comedian’s 1926 comedy YOU’D BE SURPRISED, recently restored in 2K by Undercrank Productions, which remains one of the highlights of Griffith’s oeuvre.

YOU’D BE SURPRISED stars the top-hatted bon vivant as a police coroner who is called in to solve the murder of an important district attorney. Dorothy Sebastian is the leading lady who helps Griffith sort through numerous red herrings to find the killer. Veteran supporting players, including Edward Martindel, Earle Williams, and Roscoe Karns, add comic seasoning to the proceedings.

YOU’D BE SURPRISED is a spoof of… popular whodunits set at house parties or in old dark houses where the lights suddenly go out, and when they come on, someone lies on the floor with a knife in the back… Griffith’s projection of bewilderment and sang-froid charms us throughout. —Michael Barrett, PopMatters

YOU’D BE SURPRISED is one of the more recent rediscoveries of Griffith’s films which were assumed to be lost. Following its rediscovery in 2022, the film was preserved in the Library of Congress. It is from this 35mm preservation print that Undercrank Productions created a new 2K digital restoration, which features a new score by silent film accompanist Ben Model.

YOU'D BE SURPRISED
(United States, 1926)

Director: Arthur Rosson

  • 65 minutes
  • 35mm
  • Black & white
  • Silent
Distribution Format/s: DSL/Downloadable 2K .mp4 file on server

Published By: Undercrank Productions

Institutional Price: $500

To order call: 212.280.8654 or click here for information on ordering by fax, e-mail or post.