Faith | |
---|---|
Directed by | James Kirkwood |
Written by | James Kirkwood |
Starring | Mary Miles Minter |
Cinematography | Carl Widen |
Distributed by | Mutual Film |
Release date |
|
Running time | 6 reels |
Country | United States |
Languages | Silent English intertitles |
Faith (also known as The Virtuous Outcast) is a 1916 American silent drama film directed by James Kirkwood and starring Mary Miles Minter. It was the first of Minter's films to also feature her older sister Margaret Shelby. [1] The film survives and is preserved at George Eastman House, Rochester. [2]
As described in Motography magazine: [3]
Helen Thorpe (Thorne) is secretly married to a man her father (Burton) disapproves of. Her husband is killed and when approaching motherhood forces Helen to confess her secret marriage her father is furiously angry. When the baby is born, Thorpe places it in an orphan asylum, telling Helen that it died. Only the housekeeper and Thorpe know the truth.
Some fifteen years later, Thorpe has married again and is treating his step-daughter, seventeen-year-old Laura (Shelby), in the same rigorous way he had trained Helen, and she too is enmeshed in a secret love affair. Helen, a saddened woman, is unable to influence her father. And Faith (Minter), Helen's daughter, is in an orphan asylum.
Only the old housekeeper has kept track of Faith, and she seizes an opportunity to bring the girl into the Thorpe home as a servant. Faith, whose life is kept bright by the belief that "God's in His Heaven. All's right with the world," has always dreamed of miraculously discovering that she has a mother. This belief makes her unusually solicitous for the mothers of others. So when Laura, the daughter of the house, having come to grief through her clandestine love affair, steals money from Thorpe's safe, Faith assumes the guilt in order to save, not Laura, but Laura's mother.
Faith, however, had been kind not only to mothers, but had played "Little Sunshine" to the neighbourhood in general, and had won as a friend Mark Strong (Banks), once a brilliant lawyer, now a derelict. When Strong learns of the affair, he uses his dormant power to free the girl, and of course his investigations disclose the fact of Faith's parentage and of Thorpe's roguery. Faith finds her mother, and all those who deserve happiness are given it.
The New York Times noticed that producers of the film were attempting to make leading actress Minter famous with this picture, but gave all credit to Banks, stating he "walked away with this film". [4]
A Daughter of the Gods was a 1916 American silent fantasy drama film written and directed by Herbert Brenon. The film was controversial because of the sequences of what was regarded as superfluous nudity by the character Anitia, played by Australian swimming star Annette Kellermann. The scene is regarded as the first complete nude scene by a major star, which occurred during a waterfall sequence, though most of Kellerman's body is covered by her long hair. It was filmed by Fox Film Corporation in Kingston, Jamaica, where huge sets were constructed, and directed by Herbert Brenon.
Youth's Endearing Charm is a 1916 American silent drama film directed by William C. Dowlan. The film stars Mary Miles Minter, Wallace McDonald, and Harry von Meter. The script for the film was adapted by J. Edward Hungerford from a novel of the same name written by Maibelle Heikes Justice. This was Minter's first film with Mutual Film, having previously been with Metro Pictures. A print is preserved at the Library of Congress.
Dulcie's Adventure is a 1916 American silent drama film, directed by James Kirkwood, and starring Mary Miles Minter and Bessie Banks. The script for the film was adapted by William Pigott from a novel written by R. Strauss. The film is notable for being the first time that Allan Forrest appeared as Minter's leading man; the two would make a further 19 features together, ending with The Heart Specialist. As with many of Minter's features, it is believed to be a lost film.
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Always in the Way is a 1915 American silent drama film directed by J. Searle Dawley and starring Mary Miles Minter. The film, which was inspired by the song of the same name by Charles K. Harris, was partially filmed in the Bahamas. As with many of Minter's features, the film is thought to be a lost film.
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Periwinkle is a 1917 American silent film directed by James Kirkwood and starring Mary Miles Minter. It was based on the 1910 novel Periwinkle; an Idyl of the Dunes written by William Farquhar Payson. As with many of Minter's features, it is thought to be a lost film.
Dimples is a 1916 silent drama film directed by Edgar Jones. The film stars Mary Miles Minter in the lead role.
Lovely Mary is a 1916 silent drama film directed by Edgar Jones (actor) and starring Mary Miles Minter. As with many of Minter's features, it is thought to be a lost film.
A Dream or Two Ago is a 1916 American silent drama film directed by James Kirkwood and starring Mary Miles Minter. It is one of approximately a dozen of Minter's films known to have survived. The film was restored in 2004 and was shown along with The Innocence of Lizette (1916) at a Dutch film festival.
The Innocence of Lizette is a 1916 American silent comedy-drama film directed by James Kirkwood and starring Mary Miles Minter. It is one of approximately a dozen of Minter's films which are known to have survived. The film was restored in the Netherlands in 2004 and was shown at several European film festivals along with A Dream or Two Ago, another Minter feature from 1916.
Peggy Leads the Way is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Lloyd Ingraham and starring Mary Miles Minter. It also features Andrew Arbuckle, Carl Stockdale, Allan Forrest, Emma Kluge, and Margaret Shelby, who is Minter's older sister. It is one of approximately a dozen of Minter's films to have survived, a copy having first been found at the Dutch Filmmuseum. It was sold to the American Film Institute in 1991 and is held at the UCLA Film and Television Archive.
Environment is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by James Kirkwood and starring Mary Miles Minter. As with many of Minter's features, it is believed to be a lost film. It is one of ten Minter films to also feature her older sister Margaret Shelby in a supporting role.
Annie-for-Spite is a 1917 silent film directed by James Kirkwood and starring Mary Miles Minter. The film is based upon the 1916 short story Annie for Spite by Frederick J. Jackson. As with many of Minter's features, it is thought to be a lost film.
Her Country's Call is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Lloyd Ingraham and starring Mary Miles Minter, along with George Periolat and Allan Forrest. The film is the final instalment in a series a films written by Abraham Lincoln impersonator Benjamin Chapin, who also appeared in the film as Lincoln. It was one of many films of the time that catered to the vogue for patriotic pictures after America joined World War 1, with ample shots of soldiers and the American flag. As with many of Minter's features, it is thought to be a lost film.
The Mate of the Sally Ann is a 1917 American silent comedy-drama film directed by Henry King and starring Mary Miles Minter. As with many of Minter's features, it is thought to be a lost film.
Beauty and the Rogue is a 1918 American silent comedy crime drama film directed by Henry King and starring Mary Miles Minter. It was filmed under the working title of "Mademoiselle Tiptoe," based on a story by Arthur Berthelet and adapted for the screen by Elizabeth Mahoney, who was the screenwriter for many of Minter's Mutual Film features. As with many of Minter's features, it is thought to be a lost film.
Powers That Prey is a 1918 silent comedy-drama film directed by Henry King and starring Mary Miles Minter, with whom King stated that he enjoyed working. The film is based on a story called Extra! Extra! by Will M. Ritchey, which was also the working title of the film. As with many of Minter's features, it is thought to be a lost film.
Who's Your Neighbor? is a 1917 silent American propaganda and drama film directed by S. Rankin Drew. The film's plot focuses around reformers who pass a law to force prostitutes, including Hattie Fenshaw, out of the red light district. Fenshaw becomes Bryant Harding's mistress and lives in an apartment next door to a reformer, and continues to ply her trade. After Fenshaw becomes familiar with Harding, his son, daughter and the daughter's fiancé, the climax of the film occurs as the cast assembles at Fenshaw's apartment. Harding returns and a fight breaks out that results in the reformers' arrival and concludes with the presumption that Fenshaw returns to a place of "legalized vice". The drama was written by Willard Mack and was his first foray into screen dramas. The film proved controversial, but is noted as a great success. The film originally debuted on June 15, 1917, but it was rejected by the National Board of Review and was later approved after a revision, but the film continued to be labeled as an immoral production. The film is presumed to be lost.
Social Briars is a 1918 American silent comedy-drama film directed by Henry King and starring Mary Miles Minter. The story was by Jeanne Judson, and it was filmed under the working title of "The Greater Call." As with many of Minter's features, it is thought to be a lost film.