The Mollycoddle (1920)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Victor Fleming

Writers:

Thomas J. Geraghty (scenario editor)
Harold McGrath (story)

Release Date:

13 June 1920 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Romance

Plot:

An American who has lived much of his life outside the country returns to Arizona for the first time in years and encounters villainy.

Plot Keywords:

Secret Service | Social Commentary | Desert | Canyon | Dancing

Cast

Douglas Fairbanks	...	Richard Marshall III, IV and V
Ruth Renick	...	Virginia Hale
Wallace Beery	...	Henry von Holkar
Paul Burns	...	Samuel Levinski
Morris Hughes	...	Patrick O'Flannigan
George Stewart	...	Ole Olsen
Charles Stevens	...	Yellow Horse
Lewis Hippe	...	First Mate
Betty Bouton	...	Mollie Warren
Adele Farrington	...	Mrs. Warren
Albert MacQuarrie	...	Driver of the Desert Yacht
Freddie Hawk	...	Girl Hobo

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Filming Locations:

Hopi Indian Reservation, Arizona, USA

Company:

Douglas Fairbanks Pictures

Movie Connections:

Followed by The Saphead (1920)

Rousing Good Time

This is one of only two silent films directed by Victor Fleming and starring Douglas Fairbanks, but Fleming had worked as a cinematographer on many of Fairbanks' earlier comedies. The storyline here is similar to most of the other films Fairbanks made before switching to adventure swashbucklers with 'The Mark of Zorro' (1920). 'The Mollycoddle,' however, is distinguished by polished film-making.

An introduction sets up Fairbanks characters' great Western heritage, only to find Fairbanks a mollycoddle--an expatriated dandy, who imagines Wall Street to be terrorized by cowboy gunfights. From there, Fairbanks must get back to his roots, defeat the bad guys and live happily ever after with the female lead character. Fairbanks brings his usual boyish charm to the part and performs plenty of acrobatic stunts. Actually, I think, when done well, these modern comedies somewhat highlight his talents better than do the later swashbucklers, as he's not overshadowed by a lavish production. Wallace Berry plays the role of the villain; a decade before his more prominent parts, he demonstrates that he was always a fine actor.

Surprisingly, an animation sequence reveals to us early in the film that Berry's character is secretly a jewel smuggler. It's no great feat in animation in itself, but its placement is remarkable for 1920. A rotating camera to represent Fairbanks' sickness in one scene, in addition to the apparent use of a small-scale model, transitioning between supposed establishing shots and closer looks, during the climax are other examples of the film-making ingenuity for this Fairbanks vehicle. It's interesting to see how much refinement in movie-making had occurred from, say, 1916 (when Fairbanks starred in 'Flirting with Fate,' among other films) to 1920. It was an exciting period of rapid development for the art. Another surprise in 'The Mollycoddle' is the comparatively respectful depiction of the Hopi Indians; usually for a film made in 1920 (or for years afterward), the least one may reasonably hope for is to not have Caucasians playing Native-Americans. Overall, Fleming and crew do well to support Fairbanks in making a film permitting of a rousing good time.