The House That Shadows Built (1931) is a short feature, roughly 48 minutes long, from Paramount Pictures made to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the studio's founding in 1912. It was a promotional film for exhibitors and never had a regular theatrical release and includes a brief history of Paramount, interviews with various actors, and clips from upcoming projects (some of which never came to fruition). The title comes from a biography of Paramount founder Adolph Zukor, The House That Shadows Built (1928), by William Henry Irwin.
Acting
Marx Brothers hijacking a corporate promo like born anarchists
Production
Glorious peek at lost films that never got made
Groucho Marx
Caesar's Ghost
Harpo Marx
The Merchant of Wieners
Chico Marx
Tomalio
Zeppo Marx
Sammy Brown
Ben Taggart
Mr. Lee, Theatrical Agent
Charles Ray
(archive footage)
Sarah Bernhardt
(archive footage)
Lon Chaney
(archive footage)
Miriam Hopkins
(archive footage)
Sylvia Sidney
(archive footage)
Gloria Swanson
(archive footage)
Clara Bow
(archive footage)
Ruth Chatterton
(archive footage)
Maurice Chevalier
(archive footage)
Claudette Colbert
(archive footage)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This is essentially a 1931 TikTok from Paramount's corporate account, proving studios have always been desperate for attention.
The title references Adolph Zukor's biography, but the Marx Brothers never read it—they just showed up and caused beautiful destruction.
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