A City Sparrow

1920 film

October 17, 1920 (1920-10-17)

Running time

50 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageSilent (English intertitles)

A City Sparrow is a 1920 American silent drama film directed by Sam Wood and written by Kate Jordan and Clara Genevieve Kennedy. The film stars Ethel Clayton, Walter Hiers, Clyde Fillmore, Lillian Leighton, William Boyd, and Rose Cade. The film was released on October 17, 1920, by Paramount Pictures.^[1]^[2]

Plot

As summarized in a film magazine,^[3] 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:

Milly, a cabaret dancer, offers Tim her pie at a theatrical boarding house
In her dressing room, Milly muses over the seriousness of the surgeon's decree
Too weak to continue her dancing act, Milly is compelled to leave the stage
During a sojourn in the country she meets David Muir, who learns to love her
Resisting the pleas of her former dancing partner, Milly refuses to return to the café
David persuades Milly; she promises to marry him and mother the waif that brought them together

Cast

Ethel Clayton as Milly West
Walter Hiers as Tim Ennis
Clyde Fillmore as David Muir
Lillian Leighton as Ma Ennis
William Boyd as Hughie Ray
Rose Cade as Annie
Robert Brower as Parson Neil
Helen Jerome Eddy as Hester Neil
Sylvia Ashton as Mrs. Babb

Preservation status

Currently a lost film.^[4]

References

^ "A City Sparrow". afi.com. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
^ "A City Sparrow (1920) - Overview - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
^ Film Fun (Jan. 1921), from the Internet Archive
^ The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog:A City Sparrow