''A Fighting Colleen'' is a 1919 American silent

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film directed by David Smith and produced by

Vitagraph Company of America Vitagraph Studios, also known as the Vitagraph Company of America, was a United States motion picture studio. It was founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York, as the American Vitagraph Company. By 1907 ...

. It stars

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 ne ...

and Charles Spere. The film is presumed lost.

Plot

Alannah Malone (Love), an Irish immigrant living in a

tenement A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, E ...

, who sells newspapers to make a living. When her mother dies, she engages in fistfights to defend her territory from newsboys. One particular newsboy (Spere) falls for her after she beats him up. The tenement in which Alannah lives is owned by the city's unjust mayor. When the District Attorney announces his candidacy for mayor, Alannah aids his campaign by gathering evidence to expose the mayor as a hypocrite.

Cast

as Alannah Malone *

Anne Schaefer Anne Schaefer (July 10, 1870 – May 3, 1957) was an American actress. She appeared in 147 films between 1911 and 1938. She was the aunt of fellow actresses Eva and Jane Novak. Schaefer was born to German parents, Mr. and Mrs. Herman Schafer ...

as Mother Malone * Charles Spere as Jimmy Meehan *

Jay Morley Jay Morley (July 14, 1890 – November 9, 1976), was an American actor, active in silent films. Career Morley began his acting career in a traveling vaudeville act and performed in dramas with stock theater companies for five years. He had suc ...

as Stanton Colby *

George Kunkel George Kunkel may refer to: *George Kunkel (actor, born 1866) (1866–1937), American actor and operatic baritone, son of the theatre manager *George Kunkel (politician) George Kunkel (March 10, 1893 – May 18, 1965) was an American lawyer an ...

as Mortimer Wall * Beulah Clark as Maggie O'Higgins

Reception

Press for the film likened it to

Mary Pickford Gladys Louise Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American film actress and producer. A Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood, pioneer in the American film industry with a Hollywood care ...

's ''

Daddy Long Legs A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. A biological fathe ...

'' and

Mabel Normand Amabel Ethelreid Normand (November 9, 1893 – February 23, 1930), better known as Mabel Normand, was an American silent film actress, comedienne, director and screenwriter. She was a popular star and collaborator of Mack Sennett in their K ...

's ''

Mickey Mickey is a given name and nickname, often a short form (hypocorism) of Michael, Michaela, and Michelle, and occasionally a surname. Notable people and characters with the name include: People Given name or nickname Men * Mickey Andrews (bor ...

''. The film received positive reviews, and did well at the box office.Various contemporaneous reviews: * * * *

References

External links

* * 1919 comedy-drama films 1919 lost films 1919 films American black-and-white films 1910s English-language films American silent feature films Films directed by David Smith (director) Films with screenplays by Gerald Duffy Lost American comedy-drama films English-language comedy-drama films 1910s American films Silent American comedy-drama films Lost silent American films {{silent-comedy-drama-film-stub