Everybody's Sweetheart

When the benign headmistress of the county poor farm is discharged and replaced with a tyrant, John and Mary, two orphans who have lived there since infancy, decide to run away. Accompanied by a feeble old corporal from the farm, they are forced to seek refuge at the home of General Phillip Bingham when the old soldier becomes ill. After the corporal's death, the general promises to care for the two waifs. Mary becomes his protegee, and John his gardener. Friction develops between the two newcomers and Willing and his wife Jessica, a couple living with the general who hope to inherit his wealth, until one day the general notices a close resemblance between a portrait of his deceased son and John. It is discovered then that John is actually the general's grandson. Thus legitimized, John weds Mary, and the general is pleased with his newly acquired family.

Directed by Laurence Trimble, Alan Crosland, Everybody's Sweetheart leans on a strong ensemble — Olive Thomas, William Collier Jr., Joseph J. Dowling — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about drama titles of 1920.