Outside the town of Vivonne, France, Marise La Noue, a cobbler's daughter, and Jean Leonnec, the son of Mayor Hugo Leonnec, are childhood sweethearts in love. Marise is informed that her father has died and arrives at the cobble shop to mourn his death. Marise leaves the shop impoverished as her father's business is inherited by a distant relative. Alone on the road, Marise arrives at a cottage where she meets a family having dinner. The father drives Marise out of his home and into a thunderstorm. Back at the City Hall, Jean tells his father he will marry Marise when he is of age.
That same night, Marise arrives at an abandoned cottage and is reunited with Jean. They cuddle together near a fire overnight, where Marise asks Jean not to return to his father. The next morning, Mayor Leonnec finds the couple together. He asks Marise to leave town, but Jean decides to stay with her. The couple then leave to go to Paris. Back in Vivonne, Mayor Leonnec discovers that money has been stolen from his treasury safe, and accuses his son of being a thief. When they arrive in Paris, Jean leaves Marise to find out where they get married. However, Jean is arrested by detectives and is taken back to Vivonne.
Marise waits patiently for Jean but he doesn't return. Hours later, Jean escape the detectives and races back to Paris, but he finds Marise is no longer there. Back in Vivonne, detectives apprehend the real culprit. Thinking he is still a wanted fugitive, Jean meets Bo-Bo, a clever pickpocket, along the Seine. Jean tells Bo-Bo about his search for Marise, whom he describes as an angel. Bo-Bo takes a strong liking to Jean, and teaches him how to become a thief.
Months pass, and Jean is a wanted fugitive while Marise works at a factory. There, her employer makes a sexual advance towards her, but she refuses. Meanwhile, at a local bar, Nana, a prostitute, flirts with Jean but he ignores her. Sometime later, the factory closes, and Marise is out of work. Time passes, and Marise works as a prostitute.
Jean spots Marise at the train station and is reunited with her. He takes her to his hideout, but is shocked at how much Marise has aged. He strikes her, and wanders alone on the street. There, a police officer attempts to arrest Jean. As other officers arrive, Jean is wounded in the process. Jean returns to Marise leaving a trail of blood, and hides in a closet. Marise falsely tells the policemen it is her blood after injuring herself. The next morning, Marise nurses Jean's wounds. Afraid he will be arrested again, Jean stays with Marise.
Bo-Bo arrives and takes Jean to the bar. There, Jean welcomes Nana's flirtations, but when Marise arrives, he rejects her. The policemen storm the bar looking for Jean, and accidentally shoot Marise. Jean escapes into the sewers to evade the police. He returns to the bar where he learns Marise is dying at a nearby hospital. When Jean arrives, he prays for Marise's health to recover. However, he is arrested before he can learn Marise has survived. Two years pass, and Marise works as a seamstress. Jean is released from prison and reunites with Marise. They travel back to Vivonne, along with Bo-Bo.
The film industry created the National Association of the Motion Picture Industry in 1916 in an effort to preempt censorship by states and municipalities, and it used a list of subjects called the "Thirteen Points" which film plots were to avoid. However, prostitution was not explicitly barred so long as it was not forcible (i.e., white slavery), and aspects of the prostitute’s work were not present in the film.[3]
Despite the presence of the National Associate of the Motion Picture Industry, The Red Lily still endured multiple cuts in Kansas by the Kansas Board of Review.[4]
References
↑ "The Red Lily". Silent Era. Archived from the original on June 30, 2024. Retrieved June 8, 2008.
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