''Conceit'' 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 ...

directed by Burton George, produced by Selznick Pictures, and released by Select Pictures. The film stars William B. Davidson and Mrs. De Wolf Hopper, who later became a gossip columnist using the name "Hedda Hopper".

Plot

As described in a

film magazine Film periodicals combine discussion of individual films, genres and directors with in-depth considerations of the medium and the conditions of its production and reception. Their articles contrast with film reviewing in newspapers and magazines whi ...

, wealthy William Crombie (Davidson) has always been able to purchase what he wanted, including his lovely wife Agnes (Hopper). At a dinner party in his luxurious home, to the intense boredom of his guests, William tells of his hunting exploits and of having killed a wounded bear with his bare hands. When this is doubted, he invites all of the guests to a hunting trip, and they go to his palatial lodge in the Canadian Rockies. There he proposes that they each remain until he has killed a bear. There it transpires that his old guide, who had always killed the bears for William, is ill and has sent his son in his stead. Finally, all of the guests have killed a bear and left except for William, and his guide has become so disgusted with him that he leaves. William becomes lost in the wilderness and fear almost drives him insane. He is finally sheltered by a trapper, Barbe la Fleche (Costello), and, after recovering from his fright, becomes infatuated with the trapper's ward, Jean (Hilburn). Promising all the luxuries his wealth can provide her, he almost persuades her to go away with him. The trapper finds them together and suggests that he and William fight for her. When William shows his fear, the young woman calls him a coward and drives him from the camp. Returning to his city home he finds that he has been to weak to hold onto his wife and that she has been made love to by another man, Carl Richards (Gerrard). Knowing of his cowardliness, Carl laughs at him and William hangs his head and slinks away. William is then convinced by his one true friend to take boxing lessons, and after being battered by a husky trainer (Wolheim), an unsuspected fighting spirit is aroused and he knocks out the trainer. Filled with a new spirit, he returns to his home and beats up and throws Carl out of his house. William then returns to the Canadian Rockies and, after a series of adventures, rescues Barbe and Jean after a desperate battle with a half-breed and an Indian. The trapper tells him that he has won Jean fairly, but William's better spirit rules and he returns to his lodge where he finds his wife happily waiting for him.

Cast

* William B. Davidson as William Crombie *

Hedda Hopper Hedda Hopper (born Elda Furry; May 2, 1885February 1, 1966) was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, her readership was 35 million. A strong supporter of the House Un-American Activities Committ ...

as Mrs. Agnes Crombie (credited as Mrs. De Wolf Hopper) * Charles K. Gerrard as Carl Richards * Betty Hilburn as Jean la Fleche * Maurice Costello as Barbe la Fleche *

Pat Hartigan Pat Hartigan (born 1950) is an Irish former hurler who played for his local club South Liberties and at senior level for the Limerick county team in the 1970s. He is regarded as one of Limerick's greatest-ever players. Early and private l ...

as Sam Boles (credited as Patrick Hartigan) *

Warren Cook Warren Cook (May 23, 1878 – May 2, 1939) was an American film actor of the silent era. Cook was born in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1901, he appeared in '' The Shaughraun'' at the Castle Square Theatre in Boston. He was part of the stock ...

as Alexander McBain * Red Eagle as The Wolf, an Indian Trapper *

Louis Wolheim Louis Robert Wolheim (March 28, 1880 – February 18, 1931) was an American actor, of both stage and screen, whose rough physical appearance relegated him to roles mostly of thugs or villains in the movies, but whose talent allowed him to fl ...

as Boxing Instructor (uncredited)

Production

The

working title A working title, which may be abbreviated and styled in trade publications after a putative title as (wt), also called a production title or a tentative title, is the temporary title of a product or project used during its development, usually ...

for the film was ''You Can't Kill Love''. The wilderness scenes were filmed near the city of Banff in Banff National Park,

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Preservation

A copy of ''Conceit'' is preserved at the

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Also a nonprofit exhibition venue, the ar ...

.The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: ''Conceit''
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References

External links

* *{{allmovie, 87718, Synopsis 1921 films 1921 drama films Silent American drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films shot in Alberta Selznick Pictures films Films directed by Burton George 1920s American films