A Rich Man's Plaything | |
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Directed by | Carl Harbaugh |
Written by | Carl Harbaugh |
Story by | Randolph Lewis |
Starring | Valeska Suratt |
Distributed by | Fox Film Corporation |
Release date |
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Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
A Rich Man's Plaything is a 1917 American silent drama film produced and distributed by the Fox Film Corporation. The film starred Valeska Suratt in her final film role. A Rich Man's Plaything is now considered lost. It is one of many silent films that were destroyed in a fire at Fox's film storage facility in Little Ferry, New Jersey in July 1937. [1]
As described in a film magazine, [2] Marie (Suratt), employed in a New England Cannery, meets "Iron" Lloyd (Martindel), a millionaire financier and tenement owner, whose yacht is cruising off the coast. He poses as a stoker and soon learns from Mary that, if she had the means, she would wage battle against the oppressive tenement lords. As a test, Lloyd, whom she knows as Strange, has his lawyer transfer a fortune to her as a legacy from a lost relative. Mary goes to New York and starts her fight against Lloyd. Ogden Deneau (Dillon), Lloyd's rival in business, associates himself with Mary, pretending to be interested in her work but planning to crush Lloyd. But she has an old score to settle with Deneau and enlists Strange's aid. On the day of the great coup, she arranges to meet Deneau at a country inn, and there exposes him to his wife (Kelly). Returning to the city she learns from Strange that Deneau is bankrupt and that Strange is really Lloyd. She is furious as first, but relents when Lloyd tells her that he was testing her and asks her to start life anew with him.
1917 in film was a particularly fruitful year for the art form, and is often cited as one of the years in the decade which contributed to the medium the most, along with 1913. Secondarily the year saw a limited global embrace of narrative film-making and featured innovative techniques such as continuity cutting. Primarily, the year is an American landmark, as 1917 is the first year where the narrative and visual style is typified as "Classical Hollywood".
Salome of the Tenements is a 1925 American silent drama film adapted to the screen by Sonya Levien from the Anzia Yezierska novel of the same name. Made by Jesse L. Lasky and Adolph Zukor's Famous Players–Lasky Corporation, a division of Paramount Pictures, it was directed by Sidney Olcott and starred Jetta Goudal and Godfrey Tearle.
Valeska Suratt was an American stage and silent film actress. Over the course of her career, Suratt appeared in 11 silent films, all of which are now lost, mainly due to the 1937 Fox vault fire.
Jane Lee (1912–1957) and Katherine Lee (1909–1968), sisters, were child stars in silent motion pictures and vaudeville theatre. They were also known as the "Baby Grands", "Lee Kids", or the "Fox Kiddies" for their appearances in Fox Film productions.
Camille is a 1917 American silent film based on the play adaptation of La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas, fils, first published in French as a novel in 1848 and as a play in 1852. Adapted for the screen by Adrian Johnson, Camille was directed by J. Gordon Edwards and starred Theda Bara as Camille and Albert Roscoe as her lover, Armand.
Mary Murillo was an English actress, screenwriter, and businesswoman active during Hollywood's silent era.
Cupid's Rival is a 1917 American silent comedy film featuring Oliver Hardy.
Her Country's Call is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Lloyd Ingraham and starring Mary Miles Minter, along with George Periolat and Allan Forrest. The film is the final instalment in a series a films written by Abraham Lincoln impersonator Benjamin Chapin, who also appeared in the film as Lincoln. It was one of many films of the time that catered to the vogue for patriotic pictures after America joined World War I, with ample shots of soldiers and the American flag. As with many of Minter's features, it is thought to be a lost film.
Mary Anderson was an American actress, who performed in over 77 silent films between 1914 and 1923.
The Sporting Venus is a 1925 American silent romantic drama film directed by Marshall Neilan. The film was the second MGM release of Neilan, and starred his wife, actress Blanche Sweet, who allegedly sported the lowest waistline of 1925. This is the first of two feature films that paired Ronald Colman with Blanche Sweet, the second being His Supreme Moment, which was released in May 1925.
The Rise of Jennie Cushing is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Maurice Tourneur, produced by Famous Players–Lasky, and distributed by Artcraft Pictures, an affiliate of Paramount Pictures. The story based upon the novel The Rise of Jennie Cushing by Mary Watts and stars Broadway's Elsie Ferguson. The film marked Ferguson's second motion picture. It is a lost film.
The Soul of Broadway is a 1915 American silent crime drama film produced and distributed by the Fox Film Corporation and directed by Herbert Brenon. Popular vaudeville performer Valeska Suratt starred in the film which was also her silent screen debut. The Soul of Broadway is now considered lost. It is one of many silent films that were destroyed in a fire at Fox's film storage facility in Little Ferry, New Jersey in July 1937.
She is a 1917 American silent fantasy adventure drama film directed by Kenean Buel and produced and distributed by the Fox Film Corporation. It was loosely based on H. Rider Haggard's oft filmed 1887 best-selling novel, She: A History of Adventure. Now considered lost, the film starred Valeska Suratt and Ben Taggart.
The Slave is a 1917 American silent drama film written and directed by William Nigh. The film starred Valeska Surratt. It is now considered lost.
Riders of the Purple Sage is a 1918 American silent Western film directed by Frank Lloyd and starring William Farnum, Mary Mersch, and William Scott. The film is about a former Texas Ranger who goes after a group of Mormons who have abducted his married sister. This Frank Lloyd silent film was the first of five film adaptations of Zane Grey's 1912 novel.
Catch My Smoke is a 1922 American silent Western film directed by William Beaudine, based on the novel Shoe-bar Stratton by Joseph Bushnell Ames. It stars Tom Mix, Lillian Rich, and Claude Payton.
Rich Man, Poor Man is a lost 1918 American silent romantic drama film starring Marguerite Clark and directed by J. Searle Dawley. It is based on a 1916 Broadway play by George Broadhurst. It was produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures.
The Splendid Crime is a 1926 American crime drama film directed by William C. deMille and starring Bebe Daniels. Famous Players–Lasky produced and Paramount Pictures distributed.
The Pride of New York is a lost 1917 American silent war drama film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring his brother George Walsh. It was produced by and distributed through the Fox Film Corporation.
Joseph Granby was an American film actor whose career spanned from 1915 to the 1960s.