''The Heart Bandit'' is a 1924 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

Oscar Apfel Oscar C. Apfel (January 17, 1878 – March 21, 1938) was an American film actor, director, screenwriter and producer. He appeared in more than 160 films between 1913 and 1939, and also directed 94 films between 1911 and 1927. Biography Apf ...

and starring

Viola Dana Viola Dana (born Virginia Flugrath; June 26, 1897 – July 3, 1987) was an American film actress who was successful during the era of silent films. She appeared in over 100 films, but was unable to make the transition to sound films. Early lif ...

Milton Sills Milton George Gustavus Sills (January 12, 1882 – September 15, 1930) was an American stage and film actor of the early twentieth century. Biography Sills was born in Chicago, Illinois, into a wealthy family. He was the son of William Henr ...

, and

Gertrude Claire Gertrude Claire (July 16, 1852 – April 28, 1928) was an actress of the American stage and Hollywood silent motion pictures. Biography Claire was born in Chicago, Illinois, and began appearing onstage at the age of 16. She played minor roles ...

Plot

As described in a film magazine review, Molly O'Hara's criminal gang sets out to hold up a fast truck coming across the Canadian border that they believe is carrying a rich cargo of

bootleg Bootleg or bootlegging most often refers to: * Bootleg recording, an audio or video recording released unofficially * Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages, hence: ** Moonshine, or illicitly made ...

liquor. When the gang comes alongside the truck and point a gun, it turns out they have been double-crossed as the canvas flaps of the truck go up to reveal half a dozen detectives and policemen holding revolvers. Molly is able to escape being caught and takes refuge on the private estate of John Rand, the leader of a powerful group of Wall Street manipulators. John's mother takes a liking to her and so adopts her. John is entering a shady financial deal with a business foe who is being aided by a South American, Ramón Orestest Córdova. The latter falls in love with Molly, but she finds out that he plans to double-cross John by having federal officials raid his estate. Molly, with the assistance of her old crony Spike Malone, that night cracks open the safe in the Rand mansion to rescue incriminating papers that, if obtained by the federal officials, would land John in the penitentiary. In this way, assisted by Mrs. Rand, she is able to set herself on the straight life .

Cast

Preservation

With no prints of ''The Heart Bandit'' located in any film archives,Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: ''The Heart Bandit''
/ref> it is a

lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy o ...

References

Bibliography

* Munden, Kenneth White. ''The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States, Part 1''. University of California Press, 1997.

External links

* * 1924 films 1924 drama films Silent American drama films Films directed by Oscar Apfel American silent feature films 1920s English-language films American black-and-white films Metro Pictures films 1920s American films {{1920s-silent-drama-film-stub