The Ninety and Nine

The Ninety and Nine

Theatrical poster from the Colleen Moore drama The Ninety and Nine.
Directed by David Smith
Written by
Starring
Cinematography W. Steve Smith Jr. (as Steve Smith Jr.)
Production
company
American Vitagraph Company
Release dates
  • 1922 (1922)
Country United States
Language Silent (English intertitles)

The Ninety and Nine was a 1922 silent drama starring Colleen Moore made shortly before she gained fame as a film flapper.

Story

Tom Silverton is a wrongly accused man whose real name is Phil Bradbury. He was engaged to society girl Kate Van Dyke, but she falls in love with another man. When there is a murder in the Van Dyke home, Bradbury is the primary suspect. He departs before the police can apprehend him and goes to the out-of-the way town of Marlow where he takes the name Tom Silverton. He appears to be a simple drunkard, but Ruth Blake tries to sober him up. She is ostracized by the rest of the town as a result. When Kate and Mark come to town, they spot Tom (Phil) but before he can escape a forest fire surrounds the town. Tom is the only one who kows how to operate the locomotive, but in operating it he will reveal his true identity. He does so, saving the townsfolk. He is exonerated of the crimes and marries Ruth.[1]

Cast

Background

Previously shot as a Vitagraph Blue Ribbon Feature in 1916, the original production of The Ninety and Nine had been adapted from a 1902 stage play by Ramsay Morris. The play had been based on the hymn The Ninety and Nine,[2] which had been, in its own turn, inspired by Luke 15:7. The play concerned the redemption of a fallen man (the single sheep, "Far off from the gates of gold") while the rest of the town stood idly by (the other ninety-nine "that safely lay/In the shelter of the fold"). The new version was intended to be a big production. "Miss Moore will have as her leading man Warner Baxter. Vitagraph is planning to make Ninety and Nine a big special and extra attraction."[3]

References

Notes
  1. ↑ "Beauty and Grace to Flash across the Silver Screen Here This Week". Reading Eagle. Pennsylvania. February 23, 1923. p. 21.
  2. ↑ The Ninety and Nine, by Elizabeth C. Clephane, 1868.
  3. ↑ "Colleen Moore Keeps Busy". St. Petersburg Times. Florida. October 18, 1922. p. 9.
Bibliography
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 2/8/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.