Idle Tongues
1924 American silent drama film by Lambert Hillyer
- December 21, 1924 (1924-12-21)
Running time
Idle Tongues is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Lambert Hillyer and produced by Thomas H. Ince, one of his last efforts before his death that year. It starred Percy Marmont and Doris Kenyon and was distributed by First National Pictures.[2][3]
Plot
As described in a review in a film magazine,[1] Dr. Nye (Marmont) returns to Ostable after spending five years in prison for the theft of church funds. Daniel Copeland (Gillingwater), brother of the doctor’s dead wife Fanny (Clayton), wants to install a municipal water system, but he is opposed by Cyrenus Stone (Torrence), his arch enemy. The townspeople, with their propensity for gossip, turn against Dr. Nye with the exception of Katherine Minot (Kenyon), who loves him. Typhoid fever breaks out and Dr. Nye believes that pond water which is piped by Copeland's water system is responsible for it. He accuses Copeland and is mobbed by the townspeople. He calls on Copeland and discloses how he went to prison to save his dead wife's reputation, as she was the real thief. Copeland is overcome to learn that his daughter stole the church money. Katherine overhears the conversation and provides additional details of how Dr. Nye’s wife once schemed to win him away from her. Copeland has previously opposed the marriage of his daughter Faith (Ricksen) to Tom (McGregor), the son of his arch enemy. Dr. Nye forces him to approve the marriage. Dr. Nye finds happiness in marriage with Katherine.
Cast
- Percy Marmont as Dr. Ephraim Nye
- Doris Kenyon as Katherine Minot
- Claude Gillingwater as Judge Daniel Webster Copeland
- Lucille Ricksen as Faith Copeland
- David Torrence as Cyrenus Stone
- Malcolm McGregor as Tom Stone
- Vivia Ogden as Althea Bemis
- Marguerite Clayton as Fanny Copeland
- Ruby Lafayette as Miss Pepper
- Dan Mason as Henry Ward Beecher Payson
- Mark Hamilton as Bluey Batcheldor
- Buck Black as Young Boy (uncredited)
Preservation
With no copies of Idle Tongues located in any film archives,[4] it is a lost film.
References
- ^ a b Smith, Sumner (December 27, 1924). "Idle Tongues; Percy Marmont Scores in Remarkably Appealing First National Picture of Small Town Folks". The Moving Picture World. 71 (8). New York City: Chalmers Publishing Co.: 828.
- ^ The AFI Catalog of Feature Films 1893-1993: Idle Tongues
- ^ Progressive Silent Film List: Idle Tongues at silentera.com
- ^ The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Films: Idle Tongues
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Idle Tongues.
- Idle Tongues at IMDb
- Synopsis at AllMovie
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