Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley
Encyclopedia
Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley is a 1918 silent film directed by Marshall Neilan
, written by Frances Marion
and based on a Belle K. Maniates novel.
), the daughter of a widowed scrubwoman. Amarilly is proud of her hard-working Irish family, and takes care of her five roughhouse brothers. She is engaged to bartender Terry McGowan (William Scott
), who gets her a job as a cigarette girl in his cafe after a fire unfairly causes her to lose her job as a theater scrubwoman. While working as a cigarette girl, she meets Gordon Phillips (Norman Kerry
), a handsome and wealthy but frivolous young man, who is a society sculptor.
Terry becomes jealous when Amarilly starts hanging out with Gordon, and he breaks off the engagement. Gordon offers Amarilly a job with his wealthy and snobbish aunt, Mrs. Phillips (Ida Waterman). When the neighborhood is quarantined after a breakout of scarlet fever
, Mrs. Phillips decides to take the time to teach Amarilly high class manners in a Pygmalion-like experiment. However, once she discovers her nephew has fallen in love with Amarilly, she turns against her. Mrs. Phillips tries to humiliate Amarilly by inviting her family over for a social party.
Amarilly is outraged and returns to her old home. She sees Terry and invites him for supper. He is delighted, and on the way to her house, he stops to buy expensive 50 cent violets, even though he had earlier passed up violets at 15 cents. He is shot by accident, and barely makes it to Amarilly's house before collapsing. Fortunately, Terry survives. Amarilly visits him in the hospital and tells him that when he gets out, they have a date at City Hall.
The final scene is five years later. Amarilly is in a side car on Terry's motor bike; they both are nicely dressed and seem to be doing well. Then it is revealed under the blanket she has a baby, and behind Terry is a little boy.
unbilled
Marshall Neilan
Marshall Ambrose Neilan was an American motion picture actor, screenwriter, film director, and producer.-Early life:...
, written by Frances Marion
Frances Marion
Frances Marion was an American journalist, author, and screenwriter often cited as the most renowned female screenwriter of the twentieth century alongside June Mathis and Anita Loos.-Career:...
and based on a Belle K. Maniates novel.
Plot
Set in San Francisco during the early 1900s, the film revolves around Amarilly (Mary PickfordMary Pickford
Mary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
), the daughter of a widowed scrubwoman. Amarilly is proud of her hard-working Irish family, and takes care of her five roughhouse brothers. She is engaged to bartender Terry McGowan (William Scott
William Scott
William Scott may refer to:* William Scott , MP for Kent * William Scott, 1st Baron Stowell , English judge and jurist* William Scott , American silent film actor...
), who gets her a job as a cigarette girl in his cafe after a fire unfairly causes her to lose her job as a theater scrubwoman. While working as a cigarette girl, she meets Gordon Phillips (Norman Kerry
Norman Kerry
Norman Kerry was an American actor whose career spanned over twenty-five years in the motion picture industry beginning in the silent era at the end of World War I.-Biography:...
), a handsome and wealthy but frivolous young man, who is a society sculptor.
Terry becomes jealous when Amarilly starts hanging out with Gordon, and he breaks off the engagement. Gordon offers Amarilly a job with his wealthy and snobbish aunt, Mrs. Phillips (Ida Waterman). When the neighborhood is quarantined after a breakout of scarlet fever
Scarlet fever
Scarlet fever is a disease caused by exotoxin released by Streptococcus pyogenes. Once a major cause of death, it is now effectively treated with antibiotics...
, Mrs. Phillips decides to take the time to teach Amarilly high class manners in a Pygmalion-like experiment. However, once she discovers her nephew has fallen in love with Amarilly, she turns against her. Mrs. Phillips tries to humiliate Amarilly by inviting her family over for a social party.
Amarilly is outraged and returns to her old home. She sees Terry and invites him for supper. He is delighted, and on the way to her house, he stops to buy expensive 50 cent violets, even though he had earlier passed up violets at 15 cents. He is shot by accident, and barely makes it to Amarilly's house before collapsing. Fortunately, Terry survives. Amarilly visits him in the hospital and tells him that when he gets out, they have a date at City Hall.
The final scene is five years later. Amarilly is in a side car on Terry's motor bike; they both are nicely dressed and seem to be doing well. Then it is revealed under the blanket she has a baby, and behind Terry is a little boy.
Cast
- Mary PickfordMary PickfordMary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
- Amarilly Jenkins - William ScottWilliam Scott (actor)William Scott was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 90 films between 1913 and 1934.He was born in Wisconsin and died in Los Angeles, California.-Selected filmography:* Jackie...
- Terry McGowen - Kate PriceKate Price (actress)Kate Price was an Irish-born American actress. She is perhaps best-remembered for playing the role of Mrs. Kelly in the comedy series, The Cohens and Kellys, made by Universal Pictures between 1926 and 1932. Price appeared in 296 motion pictures between 1910 and 1937.-Career:She was born Katherine...
- Mrs. Americus Jenkins - Ida WatermanIda WatermanIda Waterman born Ida Shaw, was a stage and screen actress....
- Mrs. David Phillips - Norman KerryNorman KerryNorman Kerry was an American actor whose career spanned over twenty-five years in the motion picture industry beginning in the silent era at the end of World War I.-Biography:...
- Gordon Phillips - Fred Goodwins - Johnny Walker
- Margaret Landis - Colette King
- Tom WilsonTom Wilson (actor)Tom Wilson was an American film actor. He appeared in 254 films between 1915 and 1963. He was born in Helena, Montana, and died in Los Angeles, California.-Selected filmography:* Little Marie...
- 'Snitch' McCarthy
unbilled
- Wesley BarryWesley BarryWesley Barry was an American child actor in silent motion pictures. He later became a producer and director of both film and television. As a director, he was sometimes billed as Wesley E...
- Amarilly's Brother - Frank Butterworth - Amarilly's Brother
- George HackathorneGeorge HackathorneGeorge Hackathorne was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 59 films between 1916 and 1939...
- Amarilly's Brother - Marcia Manon - Woman in Dance Hall
- Antrim Short - Amarilly's Brother
- Gertrude ShortGertrude ShortGertrude Short was an American film actress of the silent and early sound era. She appeared in 132 films between 1912 and 1945.She was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and died in Hollywood, California, aged 66....
- Gossip - Herbert StandingHerbert StandingHerbert Standing was a British stage and screen actor and the patriarch of the Standing family of actors. He was the father of numerous children who many of them had careers in the theatre and/or in cinema...
- Father Riordan - Larry SteersLarry SteersLarry Steers was an American film actor. He appeared in 426 films between 1917 and 1951.He was born in Indiana, and died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles.-Selected filmography:* Old Wives for New...
- One of Gordon's Friends - Gustav von SeyffertitzGustav von SeyffertitzGustav von Seyffertitz was a German film actor and director. He appeared in 118 films between 1917 and 1939.He was born in Haimhausen, Bavaria and died in Los Angeles, California, aged 81.-Selected filmography:...
- Surgeon