Directed by Marshall Neilan
My rating: 3.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Image Entertainment)
Paralytic Mary Pickford is sheltered from the world by doting relatives. She falls in love with frequent visitor Conway Tearle, unaware that he is unhappily married to an alcoholic. His wife secretly adopts an orphan to help keep house, but it's not long before she is arrested for child beating. Tearle takes care of the orphan and falls in love with Mary, who has an operation which cures her. However, when his wife is released from prison she refuses to let him out of the marriage. It is up to the orphan girl to salvage everyone's happiness. This poignant melodrama is well-acted: Mary has a dual role that is a revelation. Her performance as the orphan girl Unity is one of the great achievements of the early cinema. The fact that it is silent lends it a quality not unlike reading a Victorian novel in the tradition of Charles Dickens. It is wonderfully photographed by Walter Stradling, his framing in particular shows a master's touch.
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