Robes of Sin

Summary

In the somber tapestry of early 20th-century urban life, Ruth Rogens, a woman adrift in the emotional vacuum left by her dutiful but distant policeman husband, John, finds herself vulnerable to the siren call of external validation. Her neighbor, Adelaide Thomas, herself entangled in the illicit affairs of bootlegger Cyler Bryson, shrewdly orchestrates Ruth’s introduction to a world of opulent diversion. A loaned gown becomes a symbolic garment, cloaking Ruth in the seductive allure of forbidden pleasure. Cyler, a man of predatory charm and considerable means, quickly shifts his affections from Adelaide to Ruth, lavishing her with finery and fleeting attention, thereby igniting a fierce, destructive jealousy in his jilted former lover. Adelaide, fueled by a corrosive blend of pique and vengeance, cunningly manipulates Cyler’s unsuspecting wife, Grace, into believing Ruth is her husband’s paramour, setting in motion a tragic chain of events. The narrative culminates in a dramatic climax as John, during a raid on Cyler’s clandestine operations, stumbles upon the devastating tableau of his wife in the bootlegger’s compromising company at a clandestine roadhouse, a stark revelation of the moral decay festering beneath the city’s glittering surface and the profound consequences of neglect and transgression.

Synopsis

Ruth Rogens (Sylvia Breamer) is married to policeman John Rogens (Jack Mower), whose work causes him to neglect her. Her neighbor Adelaide Thomas (Gertrude Astor), the mistress of bootlegger Cyler Bryson (Bruce Gordon),invites her out on a party and loans her a gown. Before long, Cyler, the cad, is buying Ruth fancy clothes and forgets about Adelaide. The latter, in revenge, leads Cyler's wife Grace (Helene Sullivan), to believe that Ruth is her husband's mistress. John makes a raid on the bootlegger's warehouse and finds his wife in Cycler's company at a roadhouse.