The Delicious Little Devil
About The Delicious Little Devil
Mary McGuire (Mae Murray) loses her hat-check job and, to keep her mother and two idle men in the family, answers an ad for the Peach Tree Inn by pretending to be the dancer Gloria du Moine, who has vanished after a scandal with the Duke de Sauterne. Jimmy Calhoun (Rudolph Valentino), son of the contractor Michael Calhoun, wants to marry her. Michael stages a dinner and invites the duke, hoping she will slip. A fight follows the duke to Mary's tenement, where a detective takes him as a swindler. Michael learns that her father, Pat McGuire, once laid bricks beside him, and he accepts the match.
Cast & crew
More about The Delicious Little Devil
Robert Z. Leonard directed. Harvey F. Thew wrote the scenario from a story by John B. Clymer and Thew. Allen G. Siegler photographed it. Universal distributed it. The AFI catalog gives a New York opening in mid-April 1919 and a release date of 12 May 1919. On screen Valentino is billed as Rudolpho De Valintine.
Themes
Preservation
A 35mm print is at the EYE Film Instituut Nederland. A restored copy was premiered at Cinecon 55 on 1 September 2019.
Notes
- Mae Murray was married to the director, Robert Z. Leonard.
- William V. Mong plays Larry McKean, the inn manager. Bertram Grassby plays the Duke de Sauterne. Edward Jobson plays Michael Calhoun. Harry Rattenbury plays Pat McGuire. Richard Cummings plays Uncle Barney.
- Wikipedia gives the running time as 74 minutes. Wikidata lists 55 minutes.
- A restored print was shown at Cinecon 55 at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood on 1 September 2019.
Scenes
- Mary talks her way into the Peach Tree by claiming her maid stole her clothes.
- The duke forces his way into the McGuire flat and Jimmy fights him on the stairs.
- Michael Calhoun recognizes Pat McGuire as an old fellow bricklayer and agrees to the marriage.
