Social Briars | |
---|---|
Directed by | Henry King |
Written by | Edward Sloman (scenario) |
Screenplay by | Jeanne Judson |
Starring | Mary Miles Minter |
Cinematography | Ira H. Morgan |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Mutual Film |
Release date |
|
Running time | 5 reels |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
Social Briars is a 1918 American silent comedy-drama film directed by Henry King and starring Mary Miles Minter. The story was by Jeanne Judson, and it was filmed under the working title of "The Greater Call." [1] As with many of Minter's features, it is thought to be a lost film. [2]
As described in various film magazine reviews, [3] [4] [5] [6] Iris Lee (Minter) is an orphan girl who lives in a little country town with Martha Kane (Andrews). She plays the organ and sings at the village Sunday school, where Mrs. Kane's son Jim (Cobb) teaches. Jim is in love with Iris, but Iris dreams of being a famous singer in the city. The only people who take her ambitions seriously are her neighbours, Mr. and Mrs. Brown (Abrams and Davenport).
One day, Iris packs up and decides to head for the city to seek her fame and fortune. She misses the train, but is offered a ride from a passing stranger, Jack Andrews (Forrest), a wealthy young city man. He flirts with her in the car and Iris, feeling uncomfortable, jumps out and waits for a later train. When she arrives in the city, she struggles to find a way to earn a living, but one day she is walking past a church and, upon hearing the choir, decides to enter and join in. Her voice catches the attention of Peter Andrews (Periolat), who happens to be Jack's father, and she is given the position of soloist at the church.
One night while singing at the church, Iris is overheard by Helen Manning (Du Brey), a light opera star, who takes Iris on as her understudy. When Helen is dropped from the opera for refusing the advances of her manager Franklin (Whitson), Iris is promoted to the prima donna role. Jack has seen Iris performing with the opera and has fallen in love with her, but when he enters her dressing room drunk one night, Iris sends him away.
Disillusioned with fame and with the city, Iris returns to the country town and takes up her old position at the Sunday school. Jack, having sobered up and taken on a proper job as a travelling salesman for his father's business, follows her there. He manages to persuade Iris of his sincerity, and the two are engaged to wed.
Wives and Other Wives is a 1918 American silent comedy-drama film directed by Lloyd Ingraham and starring Mary Miles Minter, based on a story by Jules Furthman. As with many of Minter's features, it is thought to be a lost film.
Melissa of the Hills is a 1917 American silent film directed by James Kirkwood and starring Mary Miles Minter. As is the case with many of Minter's features, it is thought to be a lost film.
Periwinkle is a 1917 American silent film directed by James Kirkwood and starring Mary Miles Minter. It was based on the 1910 novel Periwinkle; an Idyl of the Dunes written by William Farquhar Payson. As with many of Minter's features, it is thought to be a lost film.
The Gentle Intruder is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by James Kirkwood and starring Mary Miles Minter. The film was Minter's sixth production with Mutual Film. It is one of approximately a dozen of Minter's films known to have survived; a copy is held by the Dutch Filmmuseum.
Peggy Leads the Way is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Lloyd Ingraham and starring Mary Miles Minter. It also features Andrew Arbuckle, Carl Stockdale, Allan Forrest, Emma Kluge, and Margaret Shelby, who is Minter's older sister. It is one of approximately a dozen of Minter's films to have survived, a copy having first been found at the Dutch Filmmuseum. It was sold to the American Film Institute in 1991 and is held at the UCLA Film and Television Archive.
Environment is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by James Kirkwood and starring Mary Miles Minter. As with many of Minter's features, it is believed to be a lost film. It is one of ten Minter films to also feature her older sister Margaret Shelby in a supporting role.
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 1, with ample shots of soldiers and the American flag. As with many of Minter's features, it is thought to be a lost film.
The Mate of the Sally Ann is a 1917 American silent comedy-drama film directed by Henry King and starring Mary Miles Minter. As with many of Minter's features, it is thought to be a lost film.
Beauty and the Rogue is a 1918 American silent comedy crime drama film directed by Henry King and starring Mary Miles Minter. It was filmed under the working title of "Mademoiselle Tiptoe," based on a story by Arthur Berthelet and adapted for the screen by Elizabeth Mahoney, who was the screenwriter for many of Minter's Mutual Film features. As with many of Minter's features, it is thought to be a lost film.
Powers That Prey is a 1918 silent comedy-drama film directed by Henry King and starring Mary Miles Minter, with whom King stated that he enjoyed working. The film is based on a story called Extra! Extra! by Will M. Ritchey, which was also the working title of the film. As with many of Minter's features, it is thought to be a lost film.
The Eyes of Julia Deep is a 1918 American silent comedy-drama film starring Mary Miles Minter and directed by Lloyd Ingraham. The film is based on the short story by the same name, written by Kate L. McLaurin. It is one of the few films starring Minter which are known to have survived, and one of even fewer readily available for the general public to view.
The Wishing Ring Man is a 1919 American silent drama film produced by Vitagraph Studios and directed by David Smith. It was based on the novel by Margaret Widdemer, and stars Bessie Love, with J. Frank Glendon in the title role.
Tillie is a 1922 American silent drama film directed by Frank Urson and starring Mary Miles Minter. The scenario was written by Alice Eyton, based on the novel Tillie, the Mennonite Maid by Helen Reimensnyder Martin. Tillie reunited Minter with Allan Forrest, her most frequent leading man from her time at Mutual Film and the American Film Company, for the first time since their 1919 picture Yvonne from Paris. As with many of Minter's features, Tillie is thought to be a lost film.
Life's Twist is a 1920 American silent drama film directed by Christy Cabanne with Bessie Barriscale in a dual role. With a survival status classified as unknown, so it may be a lost film.
Boston Blackie's Little Pal is a 1918 American silent drama film, directed by E. Mason Hopper. It stars Bert Lytell, Rhea Mitchell, and Rosemary Theby, and was released on August 26, 1918.
Rosemary Climbs the Heights is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by Lloyd Ingraham and starring Mary Miles Minter, Allan Forrest, and Margaret Shelby. It is the only one of Minter's feature films not listed in the Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Database, making its survival status difficult to ascertain.
Yvonne from Paris is a 1919 American silent comedy film directed by Emmett J. Flynn and starring Mary Miles Minter, Allan Forrest, and Vera Lewis. It was Minter's last film with the American Film Company; she signed a contract with Realart, part of Famous Players–Lasky, in June 1919.
The Intrusion of Isabel is a 1919 American silent comedy film directed by Lloyd Ingraham and starring Mary Miles Minter, J. Parks Jones, Allan Forrest, and Lucretia Harris. As with many of Minter's features, it is thought to be a lost film.
A Bit of Jade is a 1918 silent comedy-drama film directed by Edward Sloman and starring Mary Miles Minter. As with many of Minter’s features, it is thought to be a lost film.
The Ghost of Rosy Taylor is a 1918 American silent comedy-drama film starring Mary Miles Minter and directed by Edward Sloman. The film is based on a Saturday Evening Post story of the same name, written by Josephine Daskam Bacon. It is one of approximately a dozen Minter films which are known to have survived - a print was found in New Zealand in the 1990s which is in possession of the BFI National Archive - and one of even fewer readily available for the general public to view.