An International Marriage

Summary

In George Broadhurst’s 'An International Marriage', the screen becomes a battlefield where the burgeoning American industrialist class collides with the decaying vestiges of European nobility. Florence Brent, the daughter of a self-made laundry magnate, is the focal point of this socio-political friction. Her arrival in the corridors of Washington D.C. power triggers a cascading series of moral crises. The narrative deftly weaves the personal with the political as the Duke of Buritz, a caricature of continental cynicism, attempts to dismantle the integrity of Congressman John Oglesby—a man whose childhood bond with Florence serves as the film’s moral compass. The drama intensifies when a Count, initially betrothed to Florence’s friend Eleanor, finds his loyalty wavering under the spell of Florence’s vibrant, unpretentious wealth. It is a cinematic study of the 'parvenu' versus the 'aristocrat', culminating in a public unmasking of duplicity that asserts the superiority of American democratic values over the predatory machinations of the old world.

Synopsis

Florence Brent is the daughter of Bennington Brent, who runs a successful laundry business. Florence's childhood friend, John Oglesby, is a Congressman. When Florence visits her friend, Eleanor Williamson, in Washington D.C., she meets Eleanor's fiancé, who is a Count. The Duke of Buritz, a countryman of the Count, tries to corrupt Oglesby for political reasons. Meanwhile, the Count breaks his engagement to Eleanor, having become enamored of Florence. Oglesby eventually exposes the duplicity of the Count and Duke.