The Delicious Little Devil 1919

Mary McGuire [Mae Murray] is a working-class young woman who lives in a New York tenement and supports her mother [Alice Knowland] and her shiftless father and uncle—Pat McGuire [Harry L. Rattenberry] and Uncle Barney [Richard Cummings]. Two items in the March 27, 1919 edition of The New York Star catch her eye: a report about the famous dancer Gloria du Moine going into hiding over a scandal with the Duke de Sauterne (a thinly veiled nod to real-life figures of the era), and a cheeky classified ad for the Peach Tree Inn, described as the “snappiest roadhouse this side of Monte Carlo,” which signals a fresh start for a girl with a past.

Mary decides to apply for the job at the Peach Tree, and to seal the deal she claims she is really Gloria du Moine. The Peach Tree’s manager, Larry McKean [William V. Mong], probes her about her appearance; Mary explains that her servant absconded with all her clothes, forcing her to wear her servant’s outfits—an evasive but clever lie that buys her an audition and a chance at a new life. The inn’s grand opening night stars Gloria du Moine, drawing the attention of Jimmy Calhoun [Rudolph Valentino], the young heir to the massive Calhoun fortune. Jimmy is instantly captivated, and he confides to his father, Michael Calhoun [Edward Jobson], that he hopes to propose to Gloria.

The elder Calhoun, wary of distractions and reputations, arranges a private dinner at the Peach Tree with Gloria—narrowing his eyes at the possibility of a scandal that could deride his son’s social ambitions. At the same time, the Duke de Sauterne [Bertram Grassby] shows up in New York to scout Gloria’s performances, and his arrival coincides with Michael Calhoun’s intimate dinner party. The Duke enters the private room and behaves with a quiet cordially, masking the fact that Gloria is an impostor.

As dawn breaks, the guests linger in the Peach Tree’s private suite. Gloria, or rather Mary, wakes and hurries upstairs to her lavish accommodations. The Duke also stirs and follows, with Jimmy close behind. A clash erupts between Jimmy and the Duke, and the Duke sends Jimmy tumbling down the staircase. Panicked, Mary bolts to the street, commandeers a car, and races back to her family’s tenement. The Duke and Jimmy pursue in separate cars, racing to catch up with the runaway.

The Duke reaches the tenement first, forcing his way inside and grabbing Mary in a bid to kiss her. Jimmy arrives moments later and lunges into another fight with the Duke. A detective finally arrives and/arrests the Duke for deportation to Europe on charges of being a swindler. In a turning point, Jimmy’s father—the elder Calhoun—arrives, sees Mary’s humble surroundings, and blesses Jimmy’s desire to marry her, sealing a future that blends ambition with affection.

Throughout the unfolding drama, the Peach Tree Inn’s music thickens the atmosphere: I.S. McVea leads his band, with Satchel McVea contributing as a musician, their performances underscoring the tension between illusion and reality. The film juxtaposes Mary’s scrappy perseverance with the glamorous promises of Gloria’s persona, highlighting a line between genuine connection and social climbing. In the end, the story resolves not merely as a romance, but as a portrait of a woman who seizes a chance at a better life while navigating the complexities of deception, loyalty, and family obligations, ending with a hopeful note on acceptance and matrimony.