''Forget Me Not'', also known as ''Forget-Me-Not'', is a 1922 American

silent Silent may mean any of the following: People with the name * Silent George, George Stone (outfielder) (1876–1945), American Major League Baseball outfielder and batting champion * Brandon Silent (born 1973), South African former footballer * C ...

melodrama film A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exce ...

directed by

W. S. Van Dyke Woodbridge Strong Van Dyke II (Woody) (March 21, 1889 – February 5, 1943) was an American film director and writer who made several successful early sound films, including '' Tarzan the Ape Man'' in 1932, ''The Thin Man'' in 1934, ''San Franci ...

and distributed by

Metro Pictures Metro Pictures Corporation was a motion picture production company founded in early 1915 in Jacksonville, Florida. It was a forerunner of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The company produced its films in New York, Los Angeles, and sometimes at leased fac ...

. The film starred

Bessie Love Bessie Love (born Juanita Horton; September 10, 1898April 26, 1986) was an American-British actress who achieved prominence playing innocent, young girls and wholesome leading ladies in silent and early sound films. Her acting career spanned e ...

and

Gareth Hughes Gareth Hughes (23 August 1894 – 1 October 1965) was a Welsh stage and silent screen actor. Usually cast as a callow, sensitive hero in Hollywood silent films, Hughes got his start on stage during childhood and continued to play youthful lead ...

. It is considered a

lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy ...

Plot

Young mother Mary Gordoon (Hunt) is too poor to take care of her infant daughter, and leaves the child at orphanage. The girl, Ann (Love) grows up with a crippled leg in the orphanage, and has fallen in love with a fellow orphan Jimmy (Hughes). The mother returns to the orphanage after 15 years to adopt her daughter, but believing her daughter to have been adopted by someone else already, she adopts Jimmy instead. Ann is eventually adopted by a sidewalk musician (Lederer), who teaches her to play the violin. When Jimmy marries another girl, Ann plays at his wedding. Many years later, after Jimmy's wife dies, the pair are reunited.

Cast

Production

Director W. S. Van Dyke was unhappy about the casting of Bessie Love in the lead, whom he had not chosen. In preparation for her role, Love lived at an orphanage for two weeks. Scenes were filmed at the Crooked Tree in Arch Beach, Laguna. The song "A Million Hearts Are Calling: Forget Me Not" with words and music by

Billy Baskette William James Baskette (October 20, 1884 – November 8, 1949) was an American pianist and composer who wrote popular songs of the Tin Pan Alley era."Billy Basket, 64, Pianist, Songwriter", ''The New York Times'', November 11, 1949 He also wrote on ...

and Ernest Lutz, was composed and published for the film.

Reception

The film received generally positive reviews and was commercially successful. According to ''The Evening Mail'', the film "is a fine, clean, beautiful picture… told with such depth of understanding and with entire lack of artificiality that it strikes its note of appeal as few films that have… It is blessed with a cast that could not be improved upon." ''The Daily News'' said, "Few who see this little screen drama will not soon forget its sweetness and charm." ''The New York Times'' was critical of the film, deeming that it had only "one genuinely poignant moment." Of the performances, those of Love and Hunt, in particular, were praised. ''The New York Times'' reviewer wrote of Hughes's performance that "it is always a pleasure to watch him" and that Love was "sometimes remarkably effective, though occasionally she simpers in an annoying manner". The film's use of intertitles was criticized.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Forget Me Not 1922 drama films 1922 lost films 1922 films American black-and-white films Silent American drama films American silent feature films Films based on short fiction Films directed by W. S. Van Dyke Films shot in California Lost American films Melodrama films Metro Pictures films Lost drama films 1920s American films