THE AMAZING QUEST OF ERNEST BLISS-1920
Starring: Henry Edwards, Chrissie White, Gerald Ames, Mary Dibley, Reginald Bach, Henry Vibart, Douglas Munro, Mary Brough, John Turnbull, Gerard Hillier, Gerald Annand, Esme Hubbard, James McWilliams, Ernest Milton and John R. Allan.
Synopsis: Ernest Bliss is told by his doctor that he is over-indulging and makes him earn his own living for six months. Bliss bets that he can do this, £25,000 for the hospital on a handshake from the doctor. Bliss, under the name Brown, takes a job selling stoves. He uses his own money to provide a promotion of the stoves but after he has been offered a partnership in the company he leaves the job and the secretary who first took him on is very sad.
“The Amazing Quest of Mr Ernest Bliss” was made in 1920 and was the firs five part serial film to be produced by Hepworth Picture Plays. It was directed and starred Henry Edwards with his future wife Chrissie White. This London-set serial was a hit with public and press alike. It is based on the book “The Curious Quest” written in 1919 by E Phillips Oppenheim.
Mr. Ernest Bliss is a rich, spoilt, insipid young millionaire who becomes down but not from a physical disease, but from boredom and the dullness of a life lived without purpose or true intent. He visits a famous doctor, who insults him and refuses to shake his hand, while offering him a piece of advice that is destined to change his life. He challenges Bliss to give up his luxurious lifestyle, and earn his own living for a year, without touching a penny from his inheritance. An enraged Bliss takes up the challenge, makes a bet and stands to lose £25,000, if he fails in his task. This amount of money was considerable in 1920’s. What follows is an interesting year in the life of Mr. Bliss, who begins his quest with nothing more than £5 in his pocket and a stubborn resolve to win his bet! In that one life-changing year – he meets people from all walks of life, lives and learns the true meaning of poverty, discovers the value & importance of honest hard work & toil, understands the meaning of true friendship, and finally finds the happiness that comes from selflessness and true love!
As of August 2010, the film is missing from the BFI National Archive, and is listed as one of the British Film Institute’s “75 Most Wanted” lost films. As you can see from the stills below it captures some wonderful views of life in England at the time. A contemporary review from “The Bioscope” notes mentions the good use of the London locations and “remarkable example of street work”.
The same novel was filmed in Hollywood as The Amazing Quest of Ernest Bliss, it was also known as ‘Romance and Riches’ in 1936, which featured an up-and-coming Cary Grant in the lead role. Once again Hepworth got there first!
The only additional information we have is that the film was distributed by Imperial Films and was released in cinemas across the UK in August 1920. The duration was measured not in time but in length, all five parts of this this title was a total of 3,418 meters on 11 reels of film.
Researched from:
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0163971/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
BFI: http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b6eb386b5
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Amazing_Quest_of_Mr._Ernest_Bliss
John Goodwin: http://www.john-goodwin.com/hepworth/ernest_bliss.htm
Image from this film are now available to purchase as large format prints using the link below.
http://www.vintagenegatives.com/amazing-quest-of-ernest-bliss
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