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Under the Top

1919 film by Donald Crisp

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 9, 2026
Entity authorityQ4004584
Source-derived summary

Under the Top is a 1919 American silent comedy film directed by Donald Crisp, written by John Emerson, Gardner Hunting, and Anita Loos, and starring Fred Stone, Ella Hall, Lester Le May, Sylvia Ashton, James Cruze, and Guy Oliver. It was released on January 5, 1919, by Paramount Pictures.

Only a fragment of this film has managed to survive.

Plot

Cast

Fred Stone as Jimmie Jones

Ella Hall as Pansy O'Neill

Lester Le May as Terry O'Neill

Sylvia Ashton as Lotta Crust

James Cruze as 'Foxy' Stillmore

Guy Oliver as Jay Trimmer

Charles Stanton Ogle as Otto B. Shott

Noah Beery, Sr. as Prof. De Como

J. Cummings as Justice of the Peace

Jane Wolfe as Mrs.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Under the Top” as 1919 film by Donald Crisp. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around film, Donald and Crisp.

Editorial reviewA useful identification and reception guide that helps separate the work itself from editions, performances, ownership and later interpretation. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1919—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1919-01-01. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with film, Donald and Crisp providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Under the Top”, the useful work is to connect “1919 film by Donald Crisp” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 9, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4004584. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1919.

Critical limits

Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Under the Top”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Under the Top primary sources, Under the Top archive and film research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Under the Top”?
  2. Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
  3. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Under the Top” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.