The Soul of Youth
About The Soul of Youth
Ed Simpson makes trouble in an orphanage and runs away. On the street he meets the newsboy Mike, who shows him how to get by. Ed is pulled into court. The judge thinks he can be reached and has a young politician adopt him.
Cast & crew
More about The Soul of Youth
William Desmond Taylor directed and produced it. The working title was The Boy. Julia Crawford Ivers wrote it. James Van Trees photographed it. Realart released it on August 15, 1920. It runs 80 minutes. Lewis Sargent plays Ed. Lila Lee is the female lead.
Themes
Background
Juvenile-court stories were a magazine subject in 1920. This one sends the runaway from the dock to an adoption instead of to a reformatory.
Making
Taylor shot the orphanage runaway as a Realart feature with Sargent, who had played the newsboy in Huckleberry Finn the year before, in the lead.
Look
James Van Trees photographed the orphanage, the street, and the courtroom.
Preservation
A print is preserved in the Library of Congress collection.
Notes
- Ernest Butterworth Jr., Clyde Fillmore, Grace Morse, William Collier Jr., Claude Payton, and Elizabeth Janes are billed.
- The court scene is the turn: the judge sends Ed to a politician's house instead of back to the orphanage.
- Taylor was murdered in February 1922, less than two years after this release.
- The Library of Congress holds a print.
- Realart was the brand on the release, with Taylor producing as well as directing.
Scenes
- Ed leaves the orphanage after another round of trouble.
- Mike shows him how to live on the street.
- The judge hands him to a young politician.
