''Forbidden Fruit'' is a 1921 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. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cine ...

, and starring

Agnes Ayres Agnes Ayres (born Agnes Henkel; April 4, 1896 – December 25, 1940) was an American actress who rose to fame during the silent film era. She was known for her role as Lady Diana Mayo in '' The Sheik'' opposite Rudolph Valentino. Career Ayres b ...

Forrest Stanley Forrest Stanley (August 21, 1889 – August 27, 1969) was an American actor and screenplay writer best known for his work in silent film. He is particularly known for his role as Charles Brandon in the historical film '' When Knighthood Was in ...

Clarence Burton Clarence Forrest Burton (May 10, 1882 – December 2, 1933) was an American silent film actor. Biography Burton was born in Fort Lyon, in Benton County, Missouri and started in show business at the age of 5, playing stock and musical comedy ...

, and

Kathlyn Williams Kathlyn Williams (born Kathleen Mabel Williams, May 31, 1879 – September 23, 1960) was an American actress, known for her blonde beauty and daring antics, who performed on stage as well as in early silent film. She began her career onstage in ...

. It is a

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...

of the 1915 film ''

The Golden Chance ''The Golden Chance'' is a 1915 American drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. A print of the film survives at George Eastman House. DeMille remade the film in 1921 as ''Forbidden Fruit''. Cast * Cleo Ridgely as Mary Denby * Wallace Reid a ...

'', which was also directed by DeMille. The film survives in prints at

George Eastman House The George Eastman Museum, also referred to as ''George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography and Film'', the world's oldest museum dedicated to photography and one of the world's oldest film archives, opened to the public in 1949 in ...

and 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 is ...

Plot

Mrs. Mallory (Williams) persuades Mary Maddock (Ayres), her unhappily married seamstress, to take the place of an absent guest at her dinner party so that her husband can complete a business deal with Nelson Rogers (Stanley) rather than make his trip out West. Gorgeously gowned and very beautiful, Mary wins the heart of Nelson at the party, who asks her to marry him. Mary realizes what she is missing and remains faithful to her abusive and idle husband Steve Maddock (Burton), whom she supports. After a final insult from him (throwing a shoe at her bird that knocks the cage out a window to its death), she remains with the Mallorys, who need her for a weekend with Nelson. During that night she is awakened to find a burglar, her husband, stealing Mrs. Mallory's jewels. Steve escapes but Mary tells the Mallorys that the thief was her husband. She refuses the Mallorys' suggestion to divorce Steve who then attempts to blackmail Nelson for $10,000, which he plans to divide with a crooked partner (the butler of the Mallorys). In a fight over the money, the partner kills Steve, leaving Mary free to marry Nelson.

Cast

as Mary Maddock *

as Steve Maddock *

Theodore Roberts Theodore Roberts (October 8, 1861 – December 14, 1928) was an American film and stage actor. Early life Roberts was born in San Francisco, California. He was a cousin of the stage actress Florence Roberts. His choice of a career disapp ...

as James Harrington Mallory *

as Mrs. Mallory *

as Nelson Rogers *

Theodore Kosloff Theodore Kosloff (born Fyodor Mikhailovich Kozlov, russian: Фёдор Михайлович Козлов; January 22, 1882 – November 22, 1956) was a Russian-born ballet dancer, choreographer, and film and stage actor. He was occasionally c ...

as Pietro Giuseppe *

Shannon Day Shannon Day (born Sylvia Day; August 5, 1896 – February 24, 1977) was an American silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative ...

as Nadia Craig * Bertram Johns as John Craig *

Julia Faye Julia Faye Maloney (September 24, 1892 – April 6, 1966), known professionally as Julia Faye, was an American actress of silent and sound films. She was known for her appearances in more than 30 Cecil B. DeMille productions. Her various roles ...

as Maid * William Boyd (uncredited)

References

External links

* * {{Cecil B. DeMille 1921 films 1921 drama films American black-and-white films Silent American drama films Remakes of American films American silent feature films Articles containing video clips Famous Players-Lasky films Films directed by Cecil B. DeMille Paramount Pictures films Surviving American silent films 1920s English-language films 1920s American films