''Conceit'' is a 1921 American silent

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by Burton George, produced by Selznick Pictures, and released by Select Pictures. The film stars William B. Davidson and Mrs. De Wolf Hopper, who later became a gossip columnist using the name "Hedda Hopper".

Plot

As described in a

film magazine Film periodicals combine discussion of individual films, genres and directors with in-depth considerations of the medium and the conditions of its production and reception. Their articles contrast with film reviewing in newspapers and magazines whi ...

, wealthy William Crombie (Davidson) has always been able to purchase what he wanted, including his lovely wife Agnes (Hopper). At a dinner party in his luxurious home, to the intense boredom of his guests, William tells of his hunting exploits and of having killed a wounded bear with his bare hands. When this is doubted, he invites all of the guests to a hunting trip, and they go to his palatial lodge in the

Canadian Rockies The Canadian Rockies () or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost part of the Canadian Cordillera, w ...

. There he proposes that they each remain until he has killed a bear. There it transpires that his old guide, who had always killed the bears for William, is ill and has sent his son in his stead. Finally, all of the guests have killed a bear and left except for William, and his guide has become so disgusted with him that he leaves. William becomes lost in the wilderness and fear almost drives him insane. He is finally sheltered by a trapper, Barbe la Fleche (Costello), and, after recovering from his fright, becomes infatuated with the trapper's ward, Jean (Hilburn). Promising all the luxuries his wealth can provide her, he almost persuades her to go away with him. The trapper finds them together and suggests that he and William fight for her. When William shows his fear, the young woman calls him a coward and drives him from the camp. Returning to his city home he finds that he has been to weak to hold onto his wife and that she has been made love to by another man, Carl Richards (Gerrard). Knowing of his cowardliness, Carl laughs at him and William hangs his head and slinks away. William is then convinced by his one true friend to take boxing lessons, and after being battered by a husky trainer (Wolheim), an unsuspected fighting spirit is aroused and he knocks out the trainer. Filled with a new spirit, he returns to his home and beats up and throws Carl out of his house. William then returns to the Canadian Rockies and, after a series of adventures, rescues Barbe and Jean after a desperate battle with a half-breed and an Indian. The trapper tells him that he has won Jean fairly, but William's better spirit rules and he returns to his lodge where he finds his wife happily waiting for him.

Cast

* William B. Davidson as William Crombie *

Hedda Hopper Elda Furry (May 2, 1885February 1, 1966), known professionally as Hedda Hopper, was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, more than 35 million people read her columns. A strong supporter of the Hous ...

as Mrs. Agnes Crombie (credited as Mrs. De Wolf Hopper) * Charles K. Gerrard as Carl Richards * Betty Hilburn as Jean la Fleche *

Maurice Costello Maurice George Costello (February 22, 1877 – October 29, 1950) was a prominent American vaudeville actor of the late 1890s and early 1900s who later played a principal role in early American films as leading man, supporting player, and director ...

as Barbe la Fleche *

Pat Hartigan Pat Hartigan (born 1950) is an Irish former hurler who played for his local club South Liberties and at senior level for the Limerick county team in the 1970s. He is regarded as one of Limerick's greatest-ever players. Early and private l ...

as Sam Boles (credited as Patrick Hartigan) *

Warren Cook Warren Cook (May 23, 1878 – May 2, 1939) was an American film actor of the silent era. Cook was born in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1901, he appeared in ''The Shaughraun'' at the Castle Square Theatre in Boston. He was part of the stock co ...

as Alexander McBain * Red Eagle as The Wolf, an Indian Trapper *

Louis Wolheim Louis Robert Wolheim (March 28, 1880 – February 18, 1931) was an American actor, of both stage and screen, whose rough physical appearance relegated him to roles mostly of thugs, villains and occasionally a soldier with a heart of gold in ...

as Boxing Instructor (uncredited)

Production

The

working title A working title is a preliminary name for a product or project. The usage is especially common in film and TV, gaming, music and publishing. It is often styled in trade publications as (wt) and is synonymous with production title and tentative ...

for the film was ''You Can't Kill Love''. The wilderness scenes were filmed near the city of Banff in

Banff National Park Banff National Park is Canada, Canada's first National Parks of Canada, national park, established in 1885 as Rocky Mountains Park. Located in Alberta's Rockies, Alberta's Rocky Mountains, west of Calgary, Banff encompasses of mountainous ter ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Preservation

A copy of ''Conceit'' is preserved at the

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the film preservation, preservation, film studies, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). As a nonpro ...

.The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: ''Conceit''
/ref>

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0012063, Conceit 1921 films 1921 drama films Silent American drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films shot in Alberta Selznick Pictures films Films directed by Burton George 1920s American films