Film vs Film
Select two cult films to compare side by side.
A Wife's Sacrifice Synopsis
Brother and sister Peppo and Gorgone destroy the death certificates of a brother and sister named Palmieri who died in Calcutta, and assume their identities so they can inherit 20 million francs. They hire a law firm in Paris, where Gorgone meets the Count De Moray, a wealthy diplomat who just returned from India, and attempts to ensnare him. When the count's wife pledges a necklace to a jeweler for a loan to pay her mother's illegitimate son, gambler Robert Burel, to keep his identity secret, Peppo informs Gorgone, who convinces the count that his wife has a lover. When Gorgone pays Robert, the count sees them embrace. He shoots Robert, divorces the countess and marries Gorgone. Later, the count's daughter Pauline returns from India with her sweetheart, Elliott Drake of the Italian consulate. After Pauline agrees to marry Peppo to save her father from financial ruin, the countess gets her mother to confess, and Drake proves that Peppo and Gorgone are impostors. The countess forgives her husband, Peppo takes poison, and Gorgone accidentally stabs herself to death trying to kill the count.
Her Double Life Synopsis
Mary Doone (Theda Bara) lives in a tenement parish house run by Pastor Elliott Clifford (A. H. Van Buren). Mary joints the front as a nurse, and meets war correspondent Lloyd Stanley (Stuart Holmes), whom she had known from London. Stanley is about to take advantage of her when their hospital tent is bombed. Mary finds the body of a young girl in the tent. The young girl is Ethel Wardley (Madeleine Lee Nard), who is the niece of Lady Clifford (Lucia Moore), mother of Elliott Clifford. Mary assumes Ethel's identity and is received by Lady Clifford as her niece. Elliott falls in love with Mary. Stanley returns to London with Ethel, who has recovered from her wounds. Mary confesses what she has done, and despite Lady Clifford's pleas for her to stay, she returns to the parish house to work with children.
"A Wife's Sacrifice" holds a slight edge in general audience appreciation, but "Her Double Life" offers its own unique cult appeal.
Suggested Watch:
A Wife's Sacrifice