Crinoline and Romance

1923 film directed by Harry Beaumont

February 5, 1923 (1923-02-05)

Running time

60 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageSilent (English intertitles)

Crinoline and Romance is a 1923 American silent comedy film directed by Harry Beaumont and starring Viola Dana, Claude Gillingwater, and John Bowers.^[1]

Plot

As described in a film magazine,^[2] Colonel Charles E. Cavanaugh (Gillingwater) lives in a secluded district of North Carolina with his orphaned granddaughter Emmy Lou (Dana). He has raised her in utter ignorance of life beyond this one spot and she still wears crinolines. The old home of the Cavanaughs is now in the hands of the Colonel's niece, Mrs. Kate Wimbleton, a middle-aged society woman who likes to surround herself with young people. She invites Emmy Lou to visit her but the grandfather refuses, so she sends Davis Jordan (Bowers) to help rescue the niece from her plight. When Jordan finds Emmy Lou, the servants force him off the place. Emmy Lou decides to runaway and visit her aunt. Her old fashioned ideas and costume win over the men and she proves a great success. Then she learns of her grandfather's illness and returns home to be with him. Jordan and Augustus Biddle (Forrest) follow her. Both men are in love with her and she cannot decide which she would like to marry. The bitter feeling between the two leads to a fist fight, and the Colonel decides it would be better settled with pistols in a duel. When Biddle cheats, Emmy Lou has no difficulty in making her choice.

Cast

Viola Dana as Miss Emmy Lou
Claude Gillingwater as Col. Charles E. Cavanaugh
John Bowers as Davis Jordan
Allan Forrest as Augustus Biddle
Betty Francisco as Kitty Biddle
Mildred June as Birdie Bevans
Lillian Lawrence as Mrs. Kate Wimbleton
Gertrude Short as Sibil Vane
Lillian Leighton as Abigail
Nick Cogley as Uncle Mose

Preservation

Crinoline and Romance is a lost film.^[3]

References

^ Munden p. 155
^ "Crinoline and Romance: A Metro-Classic". Exhibitor's Trade Review. 13 (11). East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania: Exhibitor's Trade Review, Inc.: 573 February 10, 1923.
^ Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: Crinoline and Romance

Bibliography

Munden, Kenneth White. The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States, Part 1. University of California Press, 1997.