''A Rich Man's Plaything'' is a 1917 American silent

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

produced and distributed by the

Fox Film Corporation The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American independent company that produced motion pictures and was formed in 1914 by the theater "chain" pioneer William Fox (producer), William Fox. It was the corporate successor to ...

. 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 Little Ferry is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 10,987, an increase of 361 (+3.4%) from the 2010 United States census, 2010 census count of 10,626, w ...

in July 1937.

Plot

As described in a film magazine, 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.

Cast

* Valeska Suratt - Marie Grandon *

Edward Martindel Edward Martindel (July 8, 1876 – May 4, 1955) was an American stage and film actor who appeared on Broadway theatre, Broadway and in more than 80 films between 1915 and 1946. Born in Hamilton, Ohio, he was the son of Dr. and Mrs. Frank ...

- "Iron" Lloyd * John T. Dillon - Ogden Deneau * Charles Craig - Lawyer Sharp * Robert Cummings - 'Smash' Regan * Gladys Kelly - Mrs. Deneau

References

External links

* 1917 films 1917 drama films Fox Film films Silent American drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films based on short fiction Films directed by Carl Harbaugh Lost American drama films 1917 lost films 1910s American films 1910s English-language films Lost silent American films {{1910s-drama-film-stub