{{short description|1917 film directed by George Archainbaud}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox film | name = Yankee Pluck | image = | caption = | director = George Archainbaud | producer =William A. Brady | writer = Willard Mack | narrator = | starring = {{ubl|Ethel Clayton|Montagu Love|Johnny Hines}} | music = | cinematography = Philip Hatkin | editing = | studio = World Film | distributor = World Film | released = {{film date|1917|05|21}} | runtime = 50 minutes | country = United States | language = {{ubl|Silent|English intertitles}} | budget = | gross = }} '''''Yankee Pluck''''' is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by George Archainbaud and starring Ethel Clayton, Montagu Love, and Johnny Hines.<ref>''Guide to the Silent Years of American Cinema'', p. 149</ref>
==Cast== * Ethel Clayton as Polly Pollard * Edward Langford as Lieutenant Richard Travers * Johnny Hines as Lieutenant Tommy Patterson * Montagu Love as Baron Wootchi * Eric Wayne as George Henry Singleton * Charles Bowser as John Pollard * Isette Monroe as Mrs. Madison Derwent
== Production == The working title for the film was ''Pretty Polly Pollard'', changed to ''Yankee Pluck'' in early May, 1917.<ref>{{Cite book |last= |url=http://archive.org/details/motionpicturenew153unse |title=Motion Picture News |date= |publisher=Motion Picture News, Inc. |others= |location=New York City |publication-date=May 5, 1917 |pages=2850 |language=en}}</ref>
== Reception == ''Wid's Films and Film Folk''{{'}}s review was entirely negative, calling the film a "cheap, crude 'meller' without any redeeming feature."<ref>{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=http://archive.org/details/widsfilmsfilmfol03wids |title=Wid's Films and Film Folk |date= |publisher=Wid's Films and Film Folks, Inc. |others= |location=New York City |publication-date=May 24, 1917 |pages=328 |language=en}}</ref>
''Motion Picture News'' reviewer Peter Milne described the film as a "very fair picture." He criticized the plot detail of a Japanese spy seeking submarine plans as being "not at all indicative of good diplomacy," and The Maryland Country Club for looking like a gangsters' hideout.<ref>{{Cite book |last= |url=http://archive.org/details/motionpicturenew153unse |title=Motion Picture News |date= |publisher=Motion Picture News, Inc. |others= |location=New York City |publication-date=May 26, 1917 |pages=3312 |language=en}}</ref>
''Variety''{{'}}s review was mostly positive, praising the artistic efforts despite "there is little or nothing original about the plot." The reviewer also praised the performances of Johnny Hines and Charles Bowser in particular.<ref>{{Cite book |last= |url=http://archive.org/details/variety46-1917-05 |title=Variety |date= |publisher=Variety Publishing Company |others= |location=New York City |publication-date=May 11, 1917 |pages=34b |language=en}}</ref>
== Censorship == Before ''Yankee Pluck'' could be released in Kansas, the Kansas Board of Review required all scenes of women smoking cigarettes to be eliminated.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kansas Board of Review Movie Index - Kansas Historical Society |url=https://www.kansashistory.gov/statearchives/archives_board_of_reviews/search/film:yankee%20pluck/company:/star:/elimination:/begyr:/endyr:/submit:SEARCH |access-date=2025-08-09 |website=Kansas Historical Society}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==Bibliography== * Donald W. McCaffrey & Christopher P. Jacobs. ''Guide to the Silent Years of American Cinema''. Greenwood Publishing, 1999. {{ISBN|0-313-30345-2}}
==External links== * {{IMDb title|0008794}}
{{George Archainbaud}}
Category:1917 American films Category:1917 drama films Category:1917 English-language films Category:1917 films Category:American black-and-white films Category:American silent drama films Category:American silent feature films Category:English-language drama films Category:Films directed by George Archainbaud Category:Films shot in Fort Lee, New Jersey Category:World Film Company films
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