A Kentucky Cinderella is a 1917 American silent

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

directed by

Rupert Julian Rupert Julian (born Thomas Percival Hayes; 25 January 1879 – 27 December 1943) was a New Zealand cinema actor, director, writer and producer. During his career, Julian directed 60 films and acted in over 90 films. He is best remembered for di ...

and featured

and

Ruth Clifford Ruth Clifford (February 17, 1900 – November 30, 1998) was an American actress of leading roles in silent films, whose career lasted from that era into the television era. Early years Clifford was born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, the daughter ...

, and a cast including child actress

Zoe Rae Zoe Rae (born Zoë Rae Bech; July 13, 1910 – May 20, 2006) was an American child actress of the silent era. She appeared in 54 films between 1915 and 1920. She was called "the greatest little emotional actress on record" by ''Motion Pictu ...

.Within Our Gates: Ethnicity in American Feature Films, 1911-1960
p. 543 (1997) It was released June 25, 1917 by Bluebird Photoplays, a subsidiary of

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

.Snyopsis
''

The Moving Picture World The ''Moving Picture World'' was an influential early trade journal for the American film industry, from 1907 to 1927. An industry powerhouse at its height, ''Moving Picture World'' frequently reiterated its independence from the film studios. I ...

'' (June 30, 1917), p. 2155Weitzel, Edward
Reviews of Current Productions
''

'' (July 7, 1917), p. 75 The film was based on an 1898 short story by

Francis Hopkinson Smith Francis Hopkinson Smith (October 23, 1838 – April 7, 1915) was an American author, artist and engineer. He built the foundation for the Statue of Liberty, wrote many stories and received awards for his paintings. F. Hopkinson Smith was the ...

. The short story first appeared in the '' Ladies' Home Journal'' in late 1898. The story was also included in Smith's 1899 short story collection ''The Other Fellow''. The 1921 film ''Desperate Youth'' is also based on the same short story. A_Kentucky_Cinderella_1917

Plot

This story takes place in the pre-civil war south. When Ed Long (played by

Eddie Polo Eddie Polo (1 February 1875 – 14 June 1961) was an Austrian-American actor of the silent era. He was of Jewish descent.Siegbert Salomon Prawer, ''Between Two Worlds: The Jewish Presence in German and Austrian Film, 1910-1933'', Berghahn B ...

) and his brother Frank (played by

Frank Lanning Frank Lanning (August 14, 1872 – June 17, 1945) was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 84 films between 1910 and 1934. He was born in Marion, Iowa and died in Los Angeles, California. Lanning's film debut came in ''The Me ...

) try to claim-jump a California gold mine owned by "Kentuck" Windfield Gordon (played by Harry Carter) and his partner John Silverwood (played by

). "Kentuck" is killed defending his claim. His daughter Nannie (played by

) is now an orphan. Silverwood decides to send her to an uncle, Henry Gordon (also played by Harry Carter), living in Kentucky. After arriving in Kentucky, she finds out uncle Henry has remarried and the new Mrs. Gordon (played by

Elsie Jane Wilson Elsie Jane Wilson (7 November 1885 – 16 January 1965) was a cinema actress, director, and writer during the early film era. She took part in the productions of the silent film era and starred in over thirty films. Between the years of 1916 an ...

) mistreats her when she believes Nannie is competing with her own daughter Rachel (played by Myrtle Reeves). Nannie is asked to leave the house. Aunt Chlorindy (played by

Lucretia Harris Lucretia Harris, also known as Lucretia Williams and Lucretia B. H. Rogers, (1873 or 1874 - July 27, 1923) was an actress in the United States. An African American, she had supporting roles during the silent film era. She featured in ''The Adven ...

), the mammy who help raise Nannie when she was a child, helps her find a new home. The new abode is owned by a rich widow Mrs. Morgan (played by Aurora Pratt). While living with Mrs. Morgan she meets Tom Boling, a rich bachelor (played by

Emory Johnson Alfred Emory Johnson (March 16, 1894 – April 18, 1960) was an American actor, director, producer, and writer. As a teenager, he started acting in silent films. Early in his career, Carl Laemmle chose Emory to become a Universal studio leading ...

). Tom stops pursuing Rachel, starts courting Nannie, they fall in love and decide to get married. During their wedding, Silverwood shows up and announces the California mine has struck the motherlode.

Cast

Preservation status

According to the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

website, an incomplete copy of this film survives at the

EYE Film Institute Netherlands Eye Filmmuseum is a film archive, museum, and cinema in Amsterdam that preserves and presents both Dutch and foreign films screened in the Netherlands. Location and history Eye Filmmuseum is located in the Overhoeks neighborhood of Amsterdam in ...

References

External links

* *
A Kentucky Cinderella
afi.com entry

at silentera.com
A Kentucky Cinderella
original short story {{DEFAULTSORT:Kentucky Cinderella 1917 films American black-and-white films American silent feature films Films set in Kentucky Films based on short fiction Films directed by Rupert Julian 1917 drama films Silent American drama films Universal Pictures films 1910s American films