The Gentle Intruder

The Gentle Intruder is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by James Kirkwood.[1][2][3] The film was Mary Miles Minter's sixth production with Mutual Film.[4] The cast also includes George Fisher, Eugenie Forde, Harvey Clark, Franklin Ritchie and George Periolat.

The Gentle Intruder
Directed byJames Kirkwood
Written byClifford Howard
StarringMary Miles Minter
Distributed byMutual Film
Release date
  • February 19, 1917 (1917-02-19)
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent
English intertitles

A copy of the film is held by the Dutch Filmmuseum.[5]

Plot

Sylvia's uncle leaves her a fortune. However, his lawyer, Mr. Baxter, uses the money to support himself and his wife. Sylvia visits him, but isn't wanted there. She falls in love with his son Arnold, who has a drinking and gambling problem. While she is trying to get him straightened up, Arnold finds out that his parents are keeping Sylvia's money for themselves.[6]

Production

The December 20, 1916 issue of Reel Life had a news item describing an element of the film's production: "George Periolat, who plays an important role in the first scenes of The Gentle Intruder, the new Mary Miles Minter feature being directed by James Kirkwood, is having an easy time this week at the Santa Barbara studio of the American company. All he has to do is to lie in bed all day while the camera records his failing health and death. After three or four days of it, however, Periolat says he doesn't wish to see a bed for a week."[7]

In the February 3, 1917 issue, Reel Life also observed that The Gentle Intruder was Minter's first film "with her hair done up."[8]

Reception

The Moving Picture World said on February 24, 1917 that the film "will be a fit companion piece to the preceding pictures in which the young American star [Minter] has appeared, and affords her a wide opportunity in a difficult role."[9]

Motion Picture News said on March 3, 1917 that the film "is a typical Mary Miles Minter-Cinderella production. By this we mean that the diminutive star has the same tribulations that she has encountered so many times in the celluloid... These plot high-lights have been incorporated into nearly every picture starring Miss Minter. They will probably continue to form the foundation of Minter releases, because these circumstances are ideal for displaying the star's youth, wistfulness, and engaging mannerisms. The public would probably resent seeing Miss Minter in a different kind of role, just as it wants Maude Adams to play nothing but Peter Pan."[10]

Proving the Motion Picture News critic correct, the Dayton, Ohio Journal review objected to Minter's hairstyle: "Give us back our Mary. In The Gentle Intruder, Mary is no longer the laughing care-free child. She has her hair done up. Lord! fancy Mary Miles with done up hair. We refuse to stand for it. Of course Mary is gentle and wistful and awfully nice, but we want her with her hair down."[11]

Cast

References
  1. "The Gentle Intruder (1917) - Overview". TCM.com. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  2. Hans J. Wollstein. "The Gentle Intruder (1917)". AllMovie. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  3. "The Gentle Intruder". Catalog.afi.com. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  4. "George Fisher to Appear with Miss Minter". Motion Picture World: 347. January 20, 1917. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  5. Silents Are Golden Lost films article
  6. The New York Times Review summary
  7. "News item". Reel Life: 5. December 30, 1916. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  8. "News item". Reel Life: 9. February 3, 1917. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  9. "Miss Minter Heads Mutual". The Moving Picture World: 1215. February 24, 1917. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  10. "The Gentle Intruder". Motion Picture News. 15 (9): 1421–1422. March 3, 1917. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  11. "News item". Reel Life: 8. April 14, 1917. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
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