The Wicked Darling (1919)

A slum girl is forced to steal for a living. After she swipes a rich society's matron's necklace, she hides out at the home of a man who turns out to be the socialite's former fiance.

Director:

Tod Browning

Writers:

Evelyn Campbell (story), Harvey Gates,

Stars:

Priscilla Dean, Wellington A. Playter, Lon Chaney

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Priscilla Dean	...	Mary Stevens
Wellington A. Playter	...	Kent Mortimer
Lon Chaney	...	Stoop Connors
Spottiswoode Aitken	...	Fadem
Gertrude Astor	...	Adele Hoyt
Kalla Pasha	...	The Bartender

Storyline

Pickpockets 'Stoop' Connors and Mary Stevens often work together, but they are now having a falling out over a job that Connors had planned for the evening. Meanwhile, socialite Adele Hoyt breaks off her engagement with Kent Mortimer, who has lost the fortune that interested her in him. Then, as Adele is going out for the evening, her pearl necklace falls to the ground. Mary, standing nearby, quickly grabs it and runs off. As she is being pursued by police and others, Mary slips inside Kent's home to hide. As she then talks to Kent and learns of the patient way that he is dealing with his misfortunes, a change comes over Mary. She is now determined to make an honest living, and she and Kent become close. But 'Stoop' refuses to let her leave her old way of life, and he also insists on having the stolen pearls for himself.

---

Plot Keywords:

pearl | pickpocket | financial ruin | theft | threat | 

---

Genres:

Drama | Crime

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 February 1919 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Gutter Bride

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Film Manufacturing Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

59 min 59 min (restored)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Mary Stevens: I'm through wid yuh! Through wid your whole damn filthy bunch! Do yuh get me?

---

Connections

Featured in Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces (2000)

User Reviews

Solid Melodrama With A Fine Performance By Chaney

A solid melodrama in itself, "The Wicked Darling" is most noteworthy now for the supporting performance of Lon Chaney, in the kind of villainous role that he performed as well as any actor of his time (or just about any other time, for that matter). The movie has recently been restored from one badly damaged print and a few scraps of information, and the restorers have done an impressive job indeed piecing together almost all of the original feature.

Priscilla Dean has the lead role, as a good-natured pickpocket caught up in a bad crowd, among them being Chaney's vicious character. A chain of events leads Mary (Dean's character) to develop a friendship with an upper class gentleman (played by Wellington Playter) who has recently lost both his fortune and his fiancée. The two of them go on to face a series of crises, tests, and menaces, many of them instigated by Chaney's character.

It's a story like many others of its era, but Tod Browning's direction keeps it from being ordinary, adding some good touches and details, and getting good performances from most of the cast. Chaney, though, is the one that stands out. He has no disguises or detailed make-up this time, but he makes full use of every opportunity to portray a cold-hearted crook who forms a formidable obstacle to the happiness of the heroine and the man she loves. As a result, it's quite a bit more interesting and memorable than most movies of its kind.