Nurse Marjorie (1920)

• Director
  • William Desmond Taylor
• Writers
  • Julia Crawford Ivers
  • Israel Zangwill
• Stars
  • Mary Miles Minter
  • Clyde Fillmore
  • George Periolat

  Although Nurse Marjorie (Mary Miles Minter) proves to be a skilled caregiver, she is actually the daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Donegal (Arthur Hoyt and Vera Lewis). To her parents' consternation, she has decided to take a stab at being self-supporting. Her main patients are a child with a broken leg and John Danbury (Clyde Filmore) of the House of Commons, who has been temporarily blinded. Danbury falls in love with Marjorie and becomes jealous because she's spending so much time with the other patient, who he thinks is a grown man. In an attempt to discourage the romance, Marjorie takes Danbury to meet her parents -- only they don't go to the Donegal estate, but the home of a fish dealer who has agreed to stand in. However, the woman's comically uncouth ways don't dampen his spirits or his suit, and Marjorie is finally impressed with his sincerity. So she reveals her true identity, manages to overcome the obstacle of her title, and is united with Danbury. This film was based on the novel by Israel Zangwill, who was famous for his tales of British life. It is apparently the only surviving film made by director William Desmond Taylor that starred Mary Miles Minter. In 1922, Taylor was mysteriously murdered, and although it is almost certain that Minter had nothing to do with the crime, the negative publicity still ruined her career.