Masterpiece Selection that Capture the Essence of The Heart of a Pa...

Dir: Alice Guy

Persis Cabot, daughter of a multi-millionaire meets a young officer, Harvey Forbes, coming from the Philippines and they fall in love. Owing to her father's financial reverses, it is impossible for her to marry Harvey Forbes. She contracts a marriage with Willie Enslee, whose immense fortune makes it possible for her to reinstate her father and give her all the luxuries she has been used to. The marriage is a failure. Persis meets Forbes at a reception given by the Ambassador and they both confess their love to each other. Persis discovers a liaison of her husband with a former mistress and decides that she has a right to take the love which Forbes offers her. On the first occasion of their being alone together, Willie Enslee discovers them and accuses Persis of infidelity. Forbes commands her to choose between them. Persis refuses, and Forbes leaves her in desperation. Left alone together Willie, maddened by jealousy, stabs his wife. A newspaper reporter visits the house and gains information which leads him to believe that Forbes is implicated in the attempted murder. He also visits Forbes and informs him of the fact that Persis has been stabbed by her husband. Forbes hurries back to the Enslee home and tells Persis that he will take her with him, even though she is not willing to go, as they are mated to each other. After the necessary divorce proceedings have been obtained, Persis marries Harvey Forbes.

Dir: Alice Guy

Robert, a poor artist, has a vision of a wonderful Madonna. He seeks a model vainly, until he meets, accidentally, the beautiful Lucille, a woman of the demimonde. She is drawn to the shabby artist, and forsaking her fashionable acquaintances, goes to pose for him. The two fall in love and Robert paints a wonderful picture of the Madonna, using Lucille as his model. Unknown to Robert, Lucille persuades an art merchant she knows to purchase the picture, which speedily brings Robert fame and fortune. The artist and his model are married, but with the access of wealth Robert grows cold in his devotion. Robert meets the Baroness, a woman of the world, who comes to sit for her portrait, and spends most of his leisure with her. Later he meets the Baron, her husband, who has known Lucille before her marriage, and is delighted at Robert's interest in his wife, to whom he is quite indifferent, because he thinks he can thus win Lucille's affections. Robert comes to keep an appointment with the Baron at his house and finds him lying dead in the hall, having just been killed by a workman whom he had wronged. He picks up the knife with which the crime has been committed just as the Baroness and her servants enter. Convinced that he is responsible for the death of her husband, the Baroness accuses Robert. He is convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. Lucille, whose devotion to Robert remains undiminished, and who resolutely believes in his innocence, becomes a charity worker, devoting her wealth and talents to the poor. A dying workman confesses to her his guilt in the death of the Baron and Lucille takes his deathbed statement in the presence of a notary and the police officials. Robert is freed, but does not seek his wife, believing that she no longer cares for him. Broken in spirit, he goes to the church for consolation, where his painting of the Madonna is hung, seeking solace for his hungry heart in viewing the portrait of Lucille. There the two meet and are reunited before the Madonna.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of My Madonna perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: Alice Guy

A story of a female motorist that is brought to a resort in the Airondacks. Once brought in to heal from her wounds the male patrons find out that she has a rather bewitching way with men with total disregard of her ways.

Dir: Alice Guy

To celebrate the sale of his painting "The Empress", Louis de Baudry invites his model, Nedra for a holiday in the country. After de Baudry has forced his way into Nedra's room, the hotel owner, Peters, photographs the two of them smiling. A year later, Nedra is married to rich Eric Bruce. Peters has blackmail on his mind.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Vampire perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: Alice Guy

Charlotte Baker is drugged and taken to a brothel by Paul, her fiance, who in reality is a pimp. To find her, Charlotte's family contacts the celebrated detective Bob Macauley whose sweetheart Sylvia is a struggling salesgirl and the sole support of her ailing mother. When she is turned down for promotion by her boss, Sylvia applies for a position with a kindly woman who has offered her help. To her horror, Sylvia soon discovers that the woman is a madame and has lured her to the same house of ill repute in which Charlotte is being held captive. Meanwhile, searching for Charlotte, Bob visits the brothel disguised as a gasman and discovers that Sylvia is a resident. Thinking that she is there willingly, Bob upbraids her, but upon discovering the truth he rescues her as well as Charlotte and delivers Paul to the authorities.

Dir: Alice Guy

A family drama centered on the domestic life of a couple named Manning. The story explores the stability of their marriage and the challenges they face within their social environment during the early twentieth century.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of The Empress perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: Alice Guy

Farm girl Dorothy Miller dreams of becoming a writer, much to the chagrin of her old-fashioned father, who believes that a woman's place is in the home. While in the fields one day, Dorothy meets a young artist who has come to the country to paint landscapes. Attracted by her beauty, the artist urges Dorothy to visit him in the city. After his departure, Dorothy decides to run away to the city in order to realize her ambitions. There she and the artist fall in love and Dorothy becomes one of a settlement of artists residing in the Latin quarter where she writes the story of her experiences. The book, with accompanying illustrations by the artist, is accepted by a well-known publishing house whose head is the father of the artist, estranged from his son because he insisted upon pursuing a career in art. As he reads Dorothy's book, and later as Dorothy's father reads his daughter's book, both parents come to understand the motivations of their children and reconciliations are effected.

Dir: Alice Guy

A Parisian doctor, infatuated with the wife of his benefactor, drugs and kidnaps her, and tries to convince the husband that she is dead.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of The Lure perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: Alice Guy

Financier Mark Harrold is responsible for the financial ruin and subsequent suicide of Stanton. Following his death, Stanton's daughter Margaret, seeking revenge, goes to work for Harrold's beloved daughter Helen. The latter plans to marry the dashing Lord Strathmore and thus attain her social ambitions, but Margaret, to avenge her father's death, wins Strathmore away from her by deception. After their marriage, Margaret leaves Strathmore, claiming that she never loved him. With the birth of their child, Margaret becomes ill and blind, but Strathmore finds her and gives her money under an assumed identity. Following an operation that restores her sight, Margaret recognizes her husband as her benefactor and realizes that she loves him.

Dir: Alice Guy

A young girl is trying to live an honest life in a crooked city. Caught up with a crook that might be the son of a millionaire and other crooked people, she must attempt to reform things, or at least one person.