|
The Smouldering
(1915) United States of America
B&W : Two reels
Directed by Frank Beal
Cast: Frank Mayo [Gerald St. John], Eugenie Besserer [Rachel St. John, Gerald’s mother], Will E. Sheerer [Doctor Strathmore], Martha Boucher [Dorothy Strathmore], Harry De Vere [Homer, Gerald’s rival]
The Selig Polyscope Company, Incorporated, production; distributed by [?] V-L-S-E, Incorporated, or The General Film Company, Incorporated? / Produced by William N. Selig. / Released 12 July 1915. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format.
Drama.
Synopsis: [?] [From The Moving Picture World]? Rachel St. John, aged and haggard, is the victim of drugs. Gerald Strathmore, who does not know that he is the adopted son of Dr. and Mrs. Strathmore, is happy in his luxurious home. He loves Dorothy Vincent. Dorothy’s mother, however, favors Homer, as her daughter’s suitor. Mrs. Vincent receives an anonymous note, stating: “Before the wedding of your daughter Dorothy to Gerald Strathmore, would it not be well to discover the social status of this adopted son, a little secret that has been well guarded?” The crafty Homer is pleased at the reception which this note receives at the hands of Mrs. Vincent. Mrs. Vincent informs Mrs. Strathmore that it will be necessary that Gerald’s real mother reveal herself and meet his fiancée and friends at Dorothy’s pre-nuptial party. In the tenement room Rachel’s mind reverts back to the time when she told Mrs. Strathmore that she was going away alone to fight the battle, and that if she failed Gerald must never know. As the memory of her little boy returns, she is unable to stand the loneliness longer and she calls at Dr. Strathmore’s office demanding to see her son again. The doctor hides Rachel behind a screen and there she views her son who is ignorant of her presence. Dr. and Mrs. Strathmore tell Rachel that she must not sacrifice her boy’s future and they urge her to leave the city before Mrs. Vincent knows of her identity. When Gerald calls at the Vincent home, Mrs. Vincent speaks to him coldly. She says, “It is my duty to tell you that you are only an adopted son. We must know the real parentage of the man whom Dorothy marries.” When Gerald appeals to Dr. Strathmore he is told that he is not the Doctor’s son. When Mrs. Strathmore calls upon Mrs. Vincent, she is handed a note, which reads: “Gerald’s mother accepts your kind invitation to be present at the pre-nuptial fete.” Mrs. Strathmore starts in surprise, but recovers herself and hands back the note. When Dr. Strathmore seeks Rachel in her tenement, he discovers that she has disappeared. On the night of Dorothy’s party. Rachel appears in a splendid evening gown. Again she is the lady of affairs. She passes through the ordeal of the evening with sheer will power and intense desire to save Gerald’s name and position. Every hour without the drug is swiftly shortening Rachel’s life, but she makes the sacrifice. Rachel returns to her tenement. Weak and frantic for the drug, yet she dashes the bottle from her, and as crazed fancies seize her brain, she again sees Gerald. Then the spirits of Dorothy and Gerald appear and gaze at her with love.
Survival status: (unknown)
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Keywords: Children
Listing updated: 9 August 2023.
References: Lahue-Selig p. 207 : Website-IMDb.
|
