Darby and Joan (1920 film)

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Darby and Joan
Darby and Joan (1920) -3.png
Derwent Hall Caine, as Patrick Gorry, shows Leal Douglas, as his mother, the cup he won
Directed by Percy Nash
Written by Hall Caine
Produced by Maurice Elvey
Starring Derwent Hall Caine
Leal Douglas
Ivy Close
Meggie Albanesi
George Wynne
Production
company
Master Film Company
Release date
  • September 1920 (1920-09)
Running time
10 reels
6000 feet 180 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguagesSilent
English intertitles

Darby and Joan is a 1920 British drama film directed by Percy Nash and starring Derwent Hall Caine, Leal Douglas, Ivy Close, Meggie Albanesi and George Wynn. [1] The screenplay was written by the novelist Hall Caine and set on the Isle of Man.

Contents

Plot

Sir Patrick and Lady Gorry sit by the fireside, and turning the pages of an old album, recall their past life. As a boy Patrick's mother, a widow, kept the mill in a small village in the Isle of Man. Sayle Moore, a large landowner, diverted the mill stream to create an artificial lake in his grounds, robbing the widow of her means of earning a living and bringing poverty to the Gorry's house. Mrs. Gorry and her son Patrick were left nearly destitute and in her heart there grew a great bitterness. She opened a small shop and earned enough for her son's education. One night Mrs. Gorry made her son kneel down and swear vengeance on Sayle Moore. Moore had a daughter of whom he was fond. Patrick Gorry and Sheila Moore fell in love. Their parents would not agree to the marriage, particularly as Patrick has to stand trial on a charge of manslaughter, of which he is acquitted. The young couple married without consent and moved to London where Patrick reads for the bar to which he is called. After a long struggle with poverty he rises in his profession, becoming a judge.

Moore came to see Patrick, and wanted to adopt his little son, but the parents would not consent. Later the little boy was accidentally killed by his grandfather's carriage. The years passed on and Patrick was made a Judge. As a Judge he had to try the case of the man who in his early years had victimised the Gorry family. Patrick has the opportunity of securing the acquittal of the youth to whom his daughter is engaged, who like himself, has to stand in the dock to answer a charge of murder. They are only reconciled to their parents at the end of Sayle Moore's life, but have the satisfaction of assisting Mrs. Gorry in her declining years. [2] [3]

Cast

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References

  1. "Darby and Joan (1920)". BFI. Archived from the original on 7 July 2020.
  2. "Amusements". Darling Downs Gazette . No. 9318. Queensland, Australia. 10 March 1921. p. 3. Retrieved 6 January 2018 via National Library of Australia.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  3. "Darby and Joan". The Bioscope supplement. 23 October 1919. p. xiii.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .