The Clinging Vine
1926 film by Paul Sloane
The Clinging Vine is a 1926 American silent comedy film produced by Cecil B. DeMille and Paul Slone and directed by Sloane. It was distributed by DeMille's Producers Distributing Corporation. The film is based on a 1922 Broadway play of the same name by Zelda Sears. The film was a starring vehicle for Leatrice Joy who left Paramount Pictures along with DeMille when he formed his own distributing company PDC.
Plot
Business woman Antoinette Allen (Joy), known only as "A.B.", works for T.M. Bancroft (Edeson) and runs the company for him and the male board of directors, and uses masculine manners, clothes, and hairstyle, but is unhappy. When at a business retreat she overhears the boss's son Jimmy (Moore) call her an Amazon, she allows Grandma Bancroft (Claude) to give her a makeover to be more feminine by wearing a young woman's attire, plucking her eyebrows, curl her hair, and bat her eyelashes. Grandma teaches A.B. that men do not want brains but a clinging vine, and explains that all she needs to say to any man is "Do go on!" and "Aren't you wonderful!" She is introduced to Grandma's guests in an exaggerated white outfit with ruffles and bows, and all the men are smitten with her, including Jimmy, whom she decides to marry. Despite her guise, A.B. saves the men and Jimmy from a con man, and saves the company from ruin. In time, A.B. is able to combine elements from her former business persona and the flirtatious feminine ideal that the men desire. In the end, Jimmy tells her, "I think you're wonderful", and A.B. replies "Oh, do go on!" just before they kiss.
Cast
Leatrice Joy as Antoinette 'A.B.' Allen
Tom Moore as Jimmie Bancroft
Robert Edeson as T.M. Bancroft
Snitz Edwards as Dr.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “The Clinging Vine” as 1926 film by Paul Sloane. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as 1926 film by Paul Sloane. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7723408. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1926 and 1922.
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