Main Cast: Claudette Colbert, Ben Lyon, George Sidney, Ford Sterling, Hugh Cameron
Release Year: 1927
Country: US
Run Time: 75 minutes
Plot
Recently fired by comedian Harry Langdon, young director Frank Capra found it difficult to line up any new projects. He was finally afforded the opportunity to direct a New York-based production originally titled Hell's Kitchen, but eventually released as For the Love of Mike. The story is the old bromide about three men -- Irishman O'Malley (Hugh Cameron), German Schultz (Ford Sterling) and Jewish Katz (George Sidney) -- who adopt an orphaned lad named Mike (played as an adult by Ben Lyon) and finance his education. Once he gets into Yale, Mike nearly falls in with a bad crowd but in the end is redeemed by the love of pert coed Mary (Claudette Colbert, in her movie debut). Despite a strong supporting cast and worthwhile production values, For the Love of Mike was sabotaged by distribution problems and ended up a failure -- and worst of all, Frank Capra was never paid for his participation. Completely on the outs in Hollywood, Capra was forced to take a job at bottom-barrel Columbia Pictures, which in the long run turned out to be immeasurably beneficial for both director and studio. As for newcomer Claudette Colbert, she too managed to survive the For Love of Mike debacle, eventually winning an Academy Award for her work in the Frank Capra-directed It Happened One Night. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
For the Love of Mike is based upon the story "Hell's Kitchen" by John Moroso.[3] Frank Capra himself referred to the film as his first flop.[4][5] Having recently ended his association as writer for actor Harry Langdon, this became Capra's first opportunity to direct a New York based production.[6] Producer Robert Kane had contracts to provide First National Pictures with 10 films, and had planned each to be be financed with profits from the preceding.[5]For the Love of Mike was the tenth in this package, funding was limited, and agent Leland Hayward convinced Capra into deferring his salary until the end of production.[4] Capra was never paid for his participation.[6] The film is considered a commercial failure despite having what is considered a strong cast and decent production values.[6] The film had distribution problems and is now believed to be a lost film.[5][7]
For the Love of Mike is marked as being both the screen debut of Claudette Colbert and her only silent film appearance.[7][8][9] After the film received poor reviews and failed financially, Colbert vowed, "I shall never make another film".[10] However, two years later, she signed with Paramount Pictures.[11]
Plot
A baby boy is found abandoned in a Hell's Kitchen tenement and subsequently is raised by three men: a German delicatessen owner (Sterling), a Jewish tailor (Sidney), and an Irish street cleaner (Cameron). They adopt the boy and raise him as their own. The timeline jumps 20 years into their future. The now-grown Mike (Lyon) resists going to college because he does not wish to be a financial burden to his adoptive fathers, however a pretty Italian girl, Mary (Colbert) working at the delicatessen convinces him to go.
Mike enrolls at Yale and Mike gains a reputation as a sports hero. He disavows his three fathers which leads to the Irishman giving him a thrashing in front of the boy's best friends. He begins to associate with gamblers and ends up owing them money. To settle his debts, they demand he purposely lose the school's big rowing match with Harvard. His three fathers and the girl come to support him during the race, and he defies the gamblers and wins the race. His three fathers then come forward to confront and deal with the gamblers.[3]
Mordaunt Hall of New York Times wrote that the film "makes no pretensions of being anything but a movie. It seemed to satisfy the audience at the Hippodrome yesterday afternoon, for there was laughter and, at the end, applause", and concluded "Claudette Colbert, who was seen in Kenyon Nicholson's play "The Barker," lends her charm to this obstreperous piece of work. She seems quite at home before the camera".[12]
The Strong Man • For the Love of Mike • Long Pants • The Power of the Press • Say It with Sables • So This Is Love? • Submarine • The Way of the Strong • That Certain Thing • The Matinee Idol • Flight • The Donovan Affair • The Younger Generation
