''Cyclone Higgins, D.D.'' is a 1918 silent American

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

, directed by

Christy Cabanne William Christy Cabanne (April 16, 1888 – October 15, 1950) was an American film director, screenwriter, and silent film actor. Biography Born in 1888 in St. Louis, Missouri, Cabanne (pronounced CAB-a-nay) was educated at the Culver Military ...

. It stars Francis X. Bushman,

Beverly Bayne Beverly Bayne (born Pearl Beverly Bayne or Bain; November 11, 1894 – August 18, 1982) was an American actress who appeared in silent films beginning in 1910 in Chicago, Illinois, where she worked for Essanay Studios. Early life Born in Minne ...

, and Baby Ivy Ward, and was released on May 13, 1918.

Cast list

* Francis X. Bushman as Cyrus "Cyclone" Higgins, D.D. *

as Sally Phillips * Baby Ivy Ward as Dorothea *

Charles Fang Charles Fang was an American actor and comedian who was active in Hollywood primarily during the silent era. He was active on Broadway from 1930 to 1935. He was known in his time as "the greatest Chinese actor in America." Biography Fang was ...

as Johnathon Moses Chi Wu Lung *

John Prescott John Leslie Prescott, Baron Prescott (31 May 1938 – 20 November 2024) was a British politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and as First Secretary of State from 2001 to 2007. A member of the ...

as Jasper Stone *

Helen Dunbar Helen Dunbar (born Katheryn Burke Lackey; October 10, 1863 – August 28, 1933) was an American theatrical performer and silent film actress. Career Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Dunbar first appeared with the Weber & Fields Stock Co ...

as Mary Higgins *

Eugene Borden Eugene Borden (born Élysée Eugène Prieur-Bardin, March 21, 1897 – July 2, 1971) was a French-American actor, active in Hollywood from the silent era until the mid-1960's. Born in Paris, he immigrated to the United States as a teenager, and e ...

as Owen Chase * Sue Balfour as The Widow Pryor * Pop Kennard as Old Settler * Robert Carson as Sheriff

Plot

Cyrus Higgins, an itinerant preacher, arrives in Yellville, accompanied by his faithful Chinese servant, Johnathon Moses Chi Wu Lung. He meets Sally Phelps, the town belle, and is immediately smitten with her. When he sees the deputy sheriff, Jasper Stone, trying to take advantage of Sally, Higgins intervenes and forces Stone to apologize, earning the deputy's enmity. When the sheriff begins to put pressure on his deputy to solve the recent series of burglaries, Stone frames Sally's father, Abner, for the crimes. With her father in jail, Stone goes to the Phillips home to abduct Sally, but she has fled, finding sanctuary at Higgins' home. Being a gentlemen, Higgins and Wu Lung sleep outside in the back yard, leaving the house to Sally. However, Stone spreads rumors that the two spent the night together. This leads to a fight between the two men, which Higgins wins handily, earning him the nickname, "Cyclone". Afterwards, Sally is taken under the wing of Higgins sister, Mary, who sends her off to school. In her absence, Higgins realizes the depth of his feelings for her, and when she returns, the two are married.

Production

In May 1918, Metro announced that Francis X. Bushman would be appearing in the film. Shortly after, it was revealed that

would be his co-star and the film was scheduled for a May 13 release.

was set to write the screenplay, and four-year old "Baby Ivy Ward" was also scheduled to appear in the film. Others said to be cast were

, one of the few Chinese actors working in film at the time,

, Sue Balfour, and Robert Carson. A replica of a

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

mountain village was re-created in

Rockland County, New York Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population is 338,329, making it the state' ...

for filming the movie's exterior scenes.

Reception

Motion Picture News The ''Motion Picture News'' was an American film industry trade paper published from 1913 to 1930. History The publication was created through the 1913 merger of the ''Moving Picture News'' founded in 1908 and ''The Exhibitors' Times'', founde ...

'' gave the film a positive review, calling it a "Another triumph for Bushman and Bayne", and they called Cabanne's screenplay a "masterpiece". ''

Photoplay ''Photoplay'' was one of the first American film fan magazines, its title another word for screenplay. It was founded in Chicago in 1911. Under early editors Julian Johnson and James R. Quirk, in style and reach it became a pacesetter for fan m ...

'' also gave the film a good review, praising Bushman and Bayne, calling it the "finest entertainment of their long careers", and also singled out Baby Ivy Ward for her performance.

References

External links

* * * {{Christy Cabanne Films directed by Christy Cabanne Metro Pictures films American silent feature films American black-and-white films 1910s American films 1910s English-language films Silent American comedy-drama films English-language comedy-drama films