''The Mollycoddle'' is a 1920 American film starring

Douglas Fairbanks Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thie ...

and

Wallace Beery Wallace Fitzgerald Beery (April 1, 1885 – April 15, 1949) was an American film and stage actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in ''Min and Bill'' (1930) opposite Marie Dressler, as General Director Preysing in ''Grand Hotel'' (193 ...

, and directed by

Victor Fleming Victor Lonzo Fleming (February 23, 1889 – January 6, 1949) was an American film director, cinematographer, and producer. His most popular films were ''Gone with the Wind (film), Gone with the Wind'', for which he won an Academy Award for Best ...

.Progressive Silent Film List: ''The Mollycoddle''
at silentera.com Beery plays an ice-cold villain brawling with Fairbanks' character all the way down the side of a steep mountain in one sequence. A copy of the film is in the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

and in other film collections.

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 ...

, Richard Marshall (Fairbanks), nicknamed The Mollycoddle by his friends, is the descendant of hard-hitting, fearless western stock, and although born in Arizona he has been raised since a child in England and acquired English ways. Upon meeting some Americans who are about to go home in a private yacht, he joins them. Fearing that Richard is a secret service operative, the owner of the yacht, who is smuggling diamonds into the United States, withdraws the invitation. Friends, however, smuggle him aboard and, when the owner discovers him, he is put to work shoveling coal in the boiler room. Off the coast of Texas he jumps ship and swims ashore, is picked up by a fishing net and eventually makes his way to Arizona, where the party is exploring the diamond mines. Richard discovers the plot to blow up a mountain and hem the party in a little valley. The scheme nearly succeeds, but Richard captures the smuggler in a tall tree, falls through the tree limbs and brawls with him down an extremely steep embankment into a river and over a falls, then drags the half-drowned man to shore. In addition, he of course wins the girl, who turns out to be a detective in service to Uncle Sam.

Cast (in credits order)

as Richard Marshall III, IV and V *

Ruth Renick Ruth Renick (born Ruth Griffin; September 23, 1893 - May 7, 1984) was an American actress on stage and in films. She made her debut in film in 1919, in a silent film. Her career spanned the shift to "talkies", and Renick had her last role in a ...

as Virginia Hale *

as Henry von Holkar *Paul Burns as Samuel Levinski *Morris Hughes as Patrick O'Flannigan *George Stewart as Ole Olsen * Charles Stevens as Yellow Horse *Lewis Hippe as First Mate *

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 ...

as Mollie Warren *

Adele Farrington Adele Farrington (1867 – 19 December 1936) was an American actress of the silent film era. Biography Born Anna King in Brooklyn, New York, Farrington was a stage actress before appearing in 74 films between 1914 and 1926. She was a relatively ...

as Mrs. Warren *

Albert MacQuarrie Albert MacQuarrie (January 8, 1882, San Francisco – February 17, 1950, California) was an American silent film actor. He was signed in 1912 and starred in about 70 films before his retirement. He starred with William Garwood in films suc ...

as Driver of the Desert Yacht *Freddie Hawk as Girl Hobo

Uncredited cast

*Bob Burns as Barfly (uncredited) *

Frank Campeau Frank Campeau (December 14, 1864 – November 5, 1943) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 90 films between 1911 and 1940 and made many appearances in films starring Douglas Fairbanks. On Broadway, Campeau appeared in ''Rio Gr ...

as Man at Trading Post (uncredited) *Eagle Eye as Chief (uncredited) *

Bull Montana Lewis Montagna (born Luigi Montagna; May 16, 1887 – January 24, 1950), better known as Bull Montana, was an Italian-American professional wrestler, boxer and actor. Biography Born in Voghera, Italy, into a poor country family — and at a ti ...

as Cannery Worker (uncredited)

Production crew

*Cinematography by William C. McGann and Harris Thorpe *Art Direction by Edward M. Langley *Second Unit Director Theodore Reed *Technical effects by Robert Fairbanks *Supervisor - Douglas Fairbanks

References

External links

*
synopsis The Mollycoddle''
at silenthollywood.com 1920 films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films directed by Victor Fleming 1920 romantic comedy films 1920 adventure films American adventure films American romantic comedy films 1920s American films Silent romantic comedy films Silent adventure films Silent American comedy films {{adventure-film-stub