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The Pursuit of Hate
(1914) United States of America
B&W : One reel
Directed by Lois Weber
Cast: Lois Weber [Diana Grave], Phillips Smalley [Grave, Diana’s husband], Ella Hall [the Grave’s daughter], Rupert Julian, Dick La Reno
Rex Film Company production; distributed by The Universal Film Manufacturing Company, Incorporated. / Released 14 June 1914. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format.
Drama.
Synopsis: [?] [From The Moving Picture World]? Diana Grave’s husband has left her, preferring any life to that of living with a woman who is not congenial to him. Howbeit, her husband gone is a different matter than her husband present. She commissioned a detective to locate him. Out on a lonely stretch of fertile land a solitary ranchwoman was whiling away the days of her life. One day a stranger arrived with a boy, a small girlish-looking fellow. He attracted and was attracted by the ranchwoman. They were of the same true metal. The man was Diana’s husband. Diana learned of his whereabouts and went after him. She explained to the ranchwoman. The ranchwoman answered. “If you hate him be glad he left you, and if you love him you will sacrifice yourself for his happiness and leave him alone.” Diana left him alone. One night while the ranchwoman was watching his camp she saw the stranger’s shadow against the tent. He was fondling a girl’s abundant hair. This boy, then, who traveled with him was in reality a girl or a woman. The ranchwoman’s philosophy then came home to her in all its bitterness, “If you love him you will sacrifice yourself for his happiness and leave him alone.” She decides to make the sacrifice. When she arrived home, however, a letter was waiting her from Diana. It read in part, “I guess you are right. He has a daughter that I can’t bear and he won’t live without her, so we had better separate. I am going home.”
Reviews: [The Moving Picture World, 6 June 1914, page ?] A dramatic offering with a tragic ending. Lois Weber and Phillips Smalley appear. This is fragmentary in treatment, but the story is perfectly clear and one that holds the interest. The close is strongly dramatic. The scenic effects along the rugged sea coast are unusually good.
Survival status: (unknown)
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Listing updated: 5 January 2023.
References: Edmonds-BigU p. 42 : Website-IMDb.
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