The Foolish Virgin

{{short description|1924 film directed by George W. Hill}} {{about|the 1924 lost film|the earlier film of the same name|The Foolish Virgin (1916 film)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2020}} {{Infobox film | name = The Foolish Virgin | image = Foolish Virgin lobby card.jpg | caption = Lobby card | director = George W. Hill | writer = Lois Zellner | based_on = {{based on|''The Foolish Virgin: A Romance of Today''|Thomas Dixon Jr.}} | starring = Elaine Hammerstein | cinematography = Norbert Brodine | editing = | distributor = Columbia Pictures | released = {{film date|1924|8|15}} | runtime = 6 reels | country = United States | language = Silent (English intertitles) }} '''''The Foolish Virgin''''' is a lost<ref>[http://lcweb2.loc.gov:8081/diglib/ihas/loc.mbrs.sfdb.5363/default.html American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: ''The Foolish Virgin'']</ref> 1924 American silent romantic drama film released by Columbia Pictures. It was directed by George W. Hill and stars Elaine Hammerstein.<ref>[http://tcmdb.com/title/title.jsp?stid=492776 The Foolish Virgin]{{Dead link|date=February 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} at the Turner Classic Movies Database</ref> It is based on the 1915 novel ''The Foolish Virgin: A Romance of Today'' by Thomas Dixon Jr. This is the second known adaptation of the novel; the first was released in 1916.<ref name="anthonyslide">{{cite book |last=Slide |first=Anthony |author-link=Anthony Slide |title=American Racist: The Life and Films of Thomas Dixon |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |year=2004 |location=Louisville, Kentucky |page=110 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ng_fyVJVMz4C&q=%22The+Foolish+Virgin%22+dixon&pg=PA105 |isbn=0-8131-2328-3}}</ref>

==Plot== Jim Owens (Frazer) rescues Mary Adams (Hammerstein) from a scheming lawyer. Jim is successful inventor, however Mary is unaware that he has a history as a thief before they met. They fall in love and get married. Mary leaves Jim when she discovers his criminal history. In the end Jim rescues Mary and their child from a forest fire, renewing Mary's love for Jim. The 1924 plot notably differs from the book and the 1916 film. In the earlier versions Jim's thievery continued during the marriage, and only he reformed his ways after losing Mary.<ref>[http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=9148 The Foolish Virgin (1924)], American Film Institute's Catalog of Feature Films</ref><ref name="anthonyslide"/>

==Cast== *Elaine Hammerstein as Mary Adams *Robert Frazer as Jim Owens / Eiphann Owens *Gladys Brockwell as Nance Owens *Phyllis Haver as Jane Sanderson *Lloyd Whitlock as Charles Spencer *Irene Hunt as Mrs. Dawson *Howard Truesdale as Dr. Dawson *Jack Henderson as Sam Allen *Roscoe Karns as Chuck Brady *Oliver Cross as Lawson Howard *Edward W. Borman as Dan O'Leary (credited as Edward Borman) *Spec O'Donnell as Little Boy *Billy Seay as Jim Owens as a Boy (uncredited)

==Critical reception== While ''Variety'' magazine in 1924 wrote that "It should please the average audience", in 1925 ''Photoplay'' magazine described ''The Foolish Virgin'' as "silly, uninteresting, tiresome".<ref name="anthonyslide"/>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *{{IMDb title|tt0014919|The Foolish Virgin}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foolish Virgin, The}} Category:1924 films Category:1924 lost films Category:1924 romantic drama films Category:1924 American films Category:1924 English-language films Category:American black-and-white films Category:American silent feature films Category:English-language romantic drama films Category:Films based on works by Thomas Dixon Jr. Category:Lost American silent romantic drama films