Summary
In an era where the divide between pastoral virtue and metropolitan avarice was a recurring cinematic preoccupation, Mother o' Mine (1921) weaves a somber tapestry of familial abandonment and judicial peril. Robert 'Bob' Sheldon, a provincial bank clerk of irreproachable character, ventures into the high-stakes labyrinth of urban finance bearing a letter of introduction from his mother. Unbeknownst to the youth, his new benefactor, the ruthless financier Willard Thatcher, is the very progenitor who had callously discarded him and his mother years prior. Thatcher, recognizing the utility of Bob’s guileless countenance, manipulates the boy into a scheme designed to defraud a rival banker. The subsequent moral awakening leads to a visceral confrontation; in the ensuing struggle, Thatcher meets a sudden, accidental demise. The tragedy deepens as Bob is ensnared by the perjured testimony of Fan Baxter, the deceased’s vengeful mistress. Convicted of murder and sentenced to the electric chair, Bob’s survival hinges upon the desperate machinations of his sweetheart, Dolly, and his steadfast mother. Their pursuit of justice culminates in a frantic, storm-lashed race against the ticking clock of state execution, forcing a confession from a conscience-stricken witness just as the final switch looms.
Synopsis
With a letter of introduction from his mother, small-town bank clerk Robert "Bob" Sheldon gets a position with financier Willard Thatcher, who in reality is his father who earlier deserted his mother and disclaimed him. Thatcher uses the boy's honest face and straightforward ways to victimize another banker, but when Bob denounces him, a struggle ensues and Thatcher is accidentally killed. Bob is tried for the crime when the only witness, Fan Baxter, the banker's mistress, accuses him of murder; and he is sentenced to die. His sweetheart, Dolly, with the aid of his mother, forces Fan to admit to perjury, and a last-minute ride through a storm saves Bob from electrocution.
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