''A City Sparrow'' is a 1920 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- ...

directed by

Sam Wood Samuel Grosvenor Wood (July 10, 1883 – September 22, 1949) was an American film director and producer who is best known for having directed such Hollywood hits as '' A Night at the Opera'', '' A Day at the Races'', '' Goodbye, Mr. Chips'', '' ...

and written by Kate Jordan and Clara Genevieve Kennedy. The film stars

Ethel Clayton Ethel Clayton (November 8, 1882 – June 6, 1966) was an American actress of the silent film era. Early years Born in Champaign, Illinois, Clayton attended St. Elizabeth's school in Chicago. Career Clayton debuted on stage as a professional ...

Walter Hiers Walter Hiers (July 18, 1893 – February 27, 1933) was an American silent film actor. Biography Born in 1893, during his two decade-long acting career spanning from 1912 to 1932, Hiers acted in 101 films. He was a particularly prolific actor w ...

Clyde Fillmore Clyde Fillmore (October 25, 1874''Who Was Who on Screen''Silent Film Necrology'' p.170 2nd Edition by Eugene M. Vazzana c.2001 – December 19, 1946), born Clyde Fogle, was an American actor of stage and screen. He is best remembered for a 1 ...

Lillian Leighton Lillianne Brown Leighton (May 17, 1874 – March 19, 1956), known professionally as Lillian Leighton, was an American silent film actress. Leighton started her career in Chicago. Leighton was born in Auroraville, Wisconsin, on May 17, 187 ...

William Boyd William, Willie, Will or Bill Boyd may refer to: Academics * William Alexander Jenyns Boyd (1842–1928), Australian journalist and schoolmaster * William Boyd (educator) (1874–1962), Scottish educator * William Boyd (pathologist) (1885–1979), ...

, and Rose Cade. The film was released on October 17, 1920, by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

Plot

As summarized in a film magazine, Milly West (Ethel Clayton), a cabaret dancer becomes injured, and after a surgeon says she cannot become a mother, she gives up on love. Tim (Walter Hiers) loves her and after she rejects him, writes his mother in the country that he has killed himself. David (Clyde Fillmore), a man from the country, takes her there to recover and later wins her over. The magazine also used stills to illustrate the plot: File:A City Sparrow (1920) - 1.jpg, Milly, a cabaret dancer, offers Tim her pie at a theatrical boarding house File:A City Sparrow (1920) - 2.jpg, In her dressing room, Milly muses over the seriousness of the surgeon's decree File:A City Sparrow (1920) - 3.jpg, Too weak to continue her dancing act, Milly is compelled to leave the stage File:A City Sparrow (1920) - 4.jpg, During a sojourn in the country she meets David Muir, who learns to love her File:A City Sparrow (1920) - 5.jpg, Resisting the pleas of her former dancing partner, Milly refuses to return to the café File:A City Sparrow (1920) - 6.jpg, David persuades Milly; she promises to marry him and mother the waif that brought them together

Cast

as Milly West *

as Tim Ennis *

as David Muir *

as Ma Ennis *

as Hughie Ray *Rose Cade as Annie *

Robert Brower Robert Brower (July 14, 1850 – December 1934) was an actor who appeared in many American films. He appeared in several Edison films. He was lauded for his "characterizations" including in ''Apples of Sodom''. Brower was born in Point Pleasant, ...

as Parson Neil *

Helen Jerome Eddy Helen Jerome Eddy (February 25, 1897 – January 27, 1990) was a motion picture actress from New York City. She was noted as a character actress who played genteel heroines in films such as ''Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm'' (1917). Early years Edd ...

as Hester Neil *

Sylvia Ashton Sylvia Ashton (January 26, 1880 – November 18, 1940) was an American film actress of the silent film era. Ashton was born in Denver, Colorado. She bore a heavyset resemblance to Jane Darwell and like Darwell was playing mother and grand ...

as Mrs. Babb

Preservation status

*Currently a

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 ...

film.The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog:''A City Sparrow''
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References

External links

* 1920 films 1920s English-language films Silent American drama films 1920 drama films Paramount Pictures films Films directed by Sam Wood American black-and-white films American silent feature films 1920s American films {{1920s-silent-drama-film-stub