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A Modern Knight Errant
(1910) United States of America
B&W : One reel / 967 feet
Directed by (unknown)
Cast: (unknown)
The Vitagraph Corporation of America production; distributed by The Vitagraph Corporation of America. / Released 23 September 1910. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format.
Drama.
Synopsis: [?] [From The Moving Picture World]? Cyril, a young college student, starts out to find employment during the summer vacation to enable him to more comfortably pursue his studies during the fall and winter. He secures work with a farmer and turns in with the rest of the hands. Living in the neighborhood is a sweet young girl named Mary, whose mother, a widow, and a lame brother make up the household. She becomes acquainted with Cyril and soon they are the best of friends, which arouses the jealousy of Tom, a big bully of a fellow who prides himself on his ability to rub it into everybody else, and does not fail to do so whenever he gets a chance, not even sparing Mary’s poor crippled brother, upon whom he wreaks the wrath of his pent-up jealousy. He tries to bully Mary into cutting off her friendship for Cyril and accepting his attentions. Cyril sees Tom grasp Mary’s arm and threaten her, learns the reason and challenges the bully to fight him. Cyril asks Mary to retire, and the two men have a fist fight, which is very exciting and strenuous, in which Cyril proves himself the master completely to the overthrow of Tom, who sullenly slinks away with the jeers and ridicule of all the boys in town. Mary is nervously waiting to hear the issue of the battle and hoping anxiously for Cyril to win. Her brother comes, tells her Tom is completely vanquished, Mary runs to Cyril, who is nursing a sprained wrist. He is trying to bind his handkerchief around it. She offers to do it for him, and just as their hands touch their hearts respond. She throws her arms around his neck, while he enfolds her in his arms; then she breaks away and runs for the house, frightened at her impulsiveness. Cyril, well, he just looks as if he were the luckiest and happiest man in all Christendom.
Reviews: [The Moving Picture World, 8 October 1910, page ?] The battle with its spoils is not always to the strong. The fistic encounter here depicted is sufficiently lively to set the blood tingling, and when the lithe young fellow vanquishes the big, hulking, burly brute, involuntary applause ripples through the audience. That is what men like, and women, too, and they will applaud the winner in a fight of this sort, even when it is only a story. But Cyril’s reward comes later. Perhaps it need not be described. Maybe it couldn’t be. But it is safe to say that almost any man would do more fighting than that to get one. The film has plenty of life and go and will be popular.
Survival status: (unknown)
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Listing updated: 5 January 2023.
References: Website-AFI; Website-IMDb.
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