''Baby Mine'' is a 1917 American silent comedy film directed by both John S. Robertson and

Hugo Ballin Hugo Ballin NA (March 7, 1879 – November 27, 1956) was an American artist, muralist, author, and film director. Ballin was a member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters and the National Academy of Design. Biography Ballin was born in ...

and starring

Madge Kennedy Madge Kennedy (April 19, 1891 – June 9, 1987) was a stage, film and TV actress whose career began as a stage actress in 1912 and flourished in motion pictures during the silent film era. In 1921, journalist Heywood Broun described her as "the ...

. The picture marked Kennedy's screen debut and was one of the first films produced by

Samuel Goldwyn Samuel Goldwyn (born Szmuel Gelbfisz; yi, שמואל געלבפֿיש; August 27, 1882 (claimed) January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer. He was best known for being the founding contributor a ...

as an independent after founding his own studio. Frank Morgan Madge Kennedy 1917

The film is based on a 1910 Broadway play '' Baby Mine'' by Margaret Mayo. The story was filmed once again as '' Baby Mine'' (1928) with

Charlotte Greenwood Frances Charlotte Greenwood (June 25, 1890 – December 28, 1977) was an American actress and dancer. Born in Philadelphia, Greenwood started in vaudeville, and starred on Broadway, movies and radio. Standing almost six feet tall (some sour ...

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

, the successor to Goldwyn Pictures. This version, however, at one time thought

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

, is held in the French archive Cinematheque Francais.

Plot

As described in a film magazine, Alfred (Morgan) catches his wife Zoie (Kennedy) in so many lies that he leaves home and establishes an office in Boston. He is very fond of children so Zoie and Jimmie's wife Aggie (Adams) conspire to tell him that an heir has arrived, with Zoie planning on adopting a baby. Before arrangements have been completed for the baby's adoption, Alfred arrives home, necessitating the stealing of a child from a

foundling Foundling may refer to: * An abandoned child, see child abandonment * Foundling hospital, an institution where abandoned children were cared for ** Foundling Hospital, Dublin, founded 1704 ** Foundling Hospital, Cork, founded 1737 ** Foundling H ...

home. The mother of the baby, however, sets up such a rumpus that they decide to return it and borrow the washerwoman's new-born babe, one of a set of twins. More complications result when Jimmie (Cumberland) comes in with the other twin, followed by the washerwoman's husband demanding his children back. While the three babies are being cooed over by Alfred, who believes he is the father of triplets, the respective parents arrive and claim their children.

Cast

Reception

Like many American films of the time, ''Baby Mine'' was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. The Chicago Board of Censors ordered cut a closeup of money.

References

External links

* * 1917 films American silent feature films Films directed by John S. Robertson Films directed by Hugo Ballin American films based on plays Silent American comedy films 1917 comedy films American black-and-white films 1910s rediscovered films Rediscovered American films 1910s American films 1910s English-language films {{1910s-comedy-film-stub