''Heart o' the Hills'' is a 1919 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

Joseph De Grasse Joseph Louis De Grasse (May 4, 1873 – May 25, 1940) was a Canadians, Canadian film director. Born in Bathurst, New Brunswick, he was the elder brother of actor Sam De Grasse. Biography Joseph De Grasse had studied and was a first-class grad ...

and Sidney Franklin, written by

Bernard McConville Bernard McConville (October 16, 1887 – December 27, 1961) was an American screenwriter. He wrote for more than 90 films between 1915 and 1946. He was born in Denver, Colorado and died in Los Angeles County, California. Partial filmogra ...

based on

John Fox, Jr. John Fox Jr. (December 16, 1862 – July 8, 1919) was an American journalist, novelist, and short story writer. Biography Born in Stony Point, Kentucky, to John William Fox Sr. and Minerva Worth Carr, Fox studied English at Harvard University ...

's novel of the same name.

Plot

Jason Honeycutt ( Harold Goodwin) is a young boy who lives with his stepfather chief Steve Honeycutt (

Sam De Grasse Samuel Alfred De Grasse (June 12, 1875 – November 29, 1953) was a Canadian actor. He was the uncle of cinematographer Robert De Grasse. Biography Samuel Alfred De Grasse was born in Bathurst, New Brunswick to Lange De Grasse (1828–1891) ...

) at the ancestral Honeycutts' home. One day the chief is looking for the 13-year-old mountain girl Mavis Hawn (

Mary Pickford Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress and producer with a career that spanned five decades. A pioneer in the US film industry, she co-founde ...

), who is shooting bullets in the woods. Mavis desires revenge after a few gang members attacked her home and shot and killed her father. One of her only friends is geologist and school teacher John Burnham (

Fred Warren Frederick Windsor Warren (23 December 1907 – 1986) was a Welsh professional footballer and Wales international. Club career Warren began his career at his home town club Cardiff City, spending time as understudy to George McLachlan befo ...

). He suggests she get an education instead of learning to use a gun. Chief Honeycutt visits Mavis' widowed mother Martha Hawn (

Claire McDowell Claire McDowell ( MacDowell; November 2, 1877 – October 23, 1966) was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in 350 films between 1908 and 1945. Early years Claire MacDowell was born in New York City on November 2, 1877, th ...

) and flirts with her. Meanwhile, Mavis is fishing at a pond near her home with Jason. He reveals his stepfather is manipulating Martha into granting him her land. When a group of planters and capitalists come to town intending to exploit mountain coal lands, Mavis scares them away with her gun. She and Jason later run into the rich aristocrat Gray Pendleton ( John Gilbert) and his sweetheart Marjorie Lee (

Betty Bouton Betty Bouton (September 10, 1891 - ?) was an American actress from Pennsylvania. She appeared in 16 films between 1919 and 1924, with her last film being the Samuel Goldwyn part-Technicolor production '' Cytherea'' (1924). Early years Bouton gr ...

), who are looking for the town. Back at home, Mavis is disappointed Steve is still there. Later that night, Mavis visits a party and meets Gray for the second time. He flirts with her, which makes Jason jealous. Gray forces himself up to Mavis, which makes her upset and angry. She leaves the party and finds out her mother has left her to marry Steve. She decides to marry as well and proposes to Jason. However, they soon find out they are too young. When word hits town that a man named Morton Sanders (Henry Hebert) is planning to take over the city, some of the inhabitants, including Mavis, threaten him to force him go away. Later that night, Morton is found dead and the police are looking for everyone who was involved. The police visits the Hawn house, but Mavis' grandfather (

Fred Huntley Fred Huntley (29 August 1862 in London, England – 1 November 1931 in Hollywood, California) was an English silent film actor and director. Fred Huntley made his theater debut at London's Covent Garden in 1879. After years as the leading m ...

) forces them to go away. While holding them off with his shotgun, Mavis packs her things and goes to hide in the forest. The next day, John Burnham visits her and convinces her to go to trial to prove her innocence. In court, the lawyer of the other party demands for her to be hanged. The town folks try to defend her by all admitting they have shot Morton. Mavis is discharged and finally decides to go to school. Mr. Burnham, Gray and Marjorie are all pleased with Mavis' decision. Jason however, becomes jealous again when she starts hanging out with Gray at school and leaves her. Six years pass. Mavis has been adopted by the rich Colonel Pendleton (W.H. Bainbridge). One day she receives a letter from her mother, announcing she is getting old and will most likely die soon. She decides to visit her mother and finds out Steve killed her father. He has become violent and takes it out on Martha. Mavis tries to help her and shoots Steve. Martha survives the incident and takes Mavis in to live with her. Mavis is reunited with a grown-up Jason and they marry.

Cast

- Mavis Hawn * Harold Goodwin - Young Jason Honeycutt *

Allan Sears Allan Sears (March 9, 1887 – August 18, 1942) was an American film actor who played leading roles in the 1910s and 1920s before transitioning into character roles in the 1930s. He was noted for his tall stature. Biography Sears was born in S ...

- Jason Honeycutt *

- Granpap Jason Hawn *

- Martha Hawn *

- Steve Honeycutt * W.H. Bainbridge - Colonel Pendleton * John Gilbert - Gray Pendleton *

- Marjorie Lee * Henry Hebert - Morton Sanders *

- John Burnham

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heart O' The Hills 1919 films 1919 romantic drama films American romantic drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films based on American novels Films shot in California First National Pictures films Films directed by Sidney Franklin Films directed by Joseph De Grasse 1910s American films Silent romantic drama films Silent American drama films