The Deadlier Sex (1920)
1h 0m | PG-13
The Deadlier Sex features Blanche Sweet playing the daughter of a railroad magnate (Winter Hall) who has to take charge when her father unexpectedly dies. She uses her outdoor survival skills to kidnap a business rival to save the company from a stock market struggle. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive.
Director: Robert Thornby
Studio: Jesse D. Hampton Productions
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Video: 720p
Cast
Blanche Sweet
as Mary Willard
Winter Hall
as Henry Willard
Roy Laidlaw
as Huntley Green
Mahlon Hamilton
as Harvey Judson
Russell Simpson
as Jim Willis
Boris Karloff
as Jules Borney
Reviews
Subtle, attractive leading actress Blanche Sweet, who entered films with D W Griffith at Biograph (1909), plays the owner of a railroad threatened by the sharp practices of a business rival whose takeover of her rail lines would harm the interests of her small shareholders. She has him kidnapped and deposited in a forest far from his office in the city. His struggles in this unfamiliar environment and interactions with the inhabitants of the area, including a disguised Sweet, bring about an alteration in his value system. Despite its ridiculous plot, this unpretentious film provides surprisingly lively fun. Boris Karloff, appearing in his fifth film, has a small role.