Peg O' My Heart (1922)

Stars:

Laurette Taylor, Mahlon Hamilton, Russell Simpson

Introduces the legendary theatrical actress Laurette Taylor (1884-1946) to the screen reprising the role she made famous as a poor Irish farm girl who inherits a fortune but would rather have happiness instead. While a bit too old for the character supposedly in her late teens or early twenties, Laurette was tailor made for it.  The story opens in the heart of old Ireland where Jim O'Connell (Russell Simpson), an Irish patriot, is left alone to care for his little daughter, Margaret (Aileen O'Malley), whom he affectionately calls "Peg O My Heart," following the passing of his beloved wife (Sida Beth Ivans). Years pass. Margaret (Laurette Taylor), now a young woman helping her father work on his farm, finds herself being sent off to England where she is to live with her rich relatives, unaware of this arrangement provided by her father and a lawyer in order for her to collect the inheritance given to her by O'Connell's late father-in-law. While living under the roof of the Chichester family, Peg finds herself surrounded by their snobbery, with her only companions being her dog and Sir Gerald Adair (Mahlon Hamilton), a young man living in the neighborhood estate. While trying to make the best of the situation by bringing happiness to those around her, Peg becomes disillusioned when she finds out the real reason why she's been taken in by the Chichesters.