Summary
Set against the dust‑kissed mesas of an untamed mining frontier, Nugget Nell follows the eponymous proprietor of a raucous hash house—Dorothy Gish’s spirited, tomboyish heroine—as she wrestles with unreciprocated affection for the earnest sheriff, Big‑Hearted Jim. When an aging prospector entrusts her with his enigmatic "child," a statuesque six‑foot woman whose very presence upends conventional expectations, Nell obliges, discovering a tenderness that transcends physicality. The plot thickens when a polished City Chap arrives to supervise a distant claim, his gaze snagged by the ingénue he encountered on a stagecoach, leaving Nell’s yearning unacknowledged. In a desperate bid for his attention, she pilfers haute attire, only to stumble comically in French high‑heels. After a daring rescue of the Chap from marauding outlaws, Nell shelters him in an abandoned shack, only to watch the outlaws abduct the "child" and ignite the structure. Jim, wielding a lasso with cinematic flair, thwarts the bandits, saves Nell, and, in the blaze of revelation, she finally surrenders to the steadfast love she had long ignored.
Synopsis
Big Hearted Jim, the sheriff, loves the tomboyish Nugget Nell ( Dorothy Gish ), who runs a hash house in the mining country, but although she has romantic feelings, they are not aroused by Jim. Nell agrees to an old miner friend's request to care for his "child," Nell is shocked to meet the six-foot girl, but she cares for her just the same. Nell falls in love with the City Chap, out West to look after his mining property, but he barely notices her, having become intrigued by the Ingenue, whom he met on the stagecoach. The jealous Nell steals stylish clothes to allure him, but she has trouble walking in French high-heels. After rescuing the City Chap from outlaws robbing the stage, Nell takes him to a deserted shack. Although the outlaws kidnap the "child" and set fire to the shack, Jim, lassoing them one-by-one, rescues Nell, who, having seen the City Chap's cowardice, now yields to Jim's embrace.
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