The Unfortunate Marriage

Summary

In this 1917 cinematic interpretation of Wilkie Collins’ seminal sensation novel, the narrative follows the tragic trajectory of Laura Fairlie, an heiress whose destiny is bartered away by the deathbed decree of her father. Despite her profound emotional tether to the humble drawing master Walter Hartridge, Laura is coerced into a matrimonial alliance with the sinister Sir Percival Glyde. The atmosphere of impending doom is catalyzed by the cryptic interventions of Ann Catherick, a fragile escapee from a sanitarium whose physical likeness to Laura is nothing short of uncanny. As the union dissolves into a nightmare of financial predation, Glyde orchestrates a nefarious stratagem of identity erasure. Seizing upon Ann’s untimely demise, the baronet gaslights the world, institutionalizing his wife under the guise of the deceased girl while burying the 'insane' woman in a grave marked with Laura’s name. This gothic labyrinth of institutional betrayal and stolen identity is only navigated through the tenacious intuition of Marian Halcombe and Walter, who must unmask the baronet’s perfidy before the flames of a final, purgative catastrophe consume the architect of their misery.

Synopsis

At the request of her dying father, heiress Laura Fairlie marries Sir Percival Glyde, despite her love for Walter Hartridge and the warnings of Ann Catherick, a half-witted girl who bears a striking resemblance to Laura. After the marriage, Glyde schemes to appropriate his wife's money. When he learns that Ann has escaped from an asylum and has perished, Glyde takes Laura to the asylum and commits her, claiming that she is Ann. He then informs everyone that his wife had died, and buries the body of the insane woman in her place. Walter and Laura's half sister, Marian Halcombe, become suspicious, however, and remembering Ann's previous warnings, discover what Glyde has done. After Glyde meets his death in a fire, Walter rescues Laura and the two lovers are reunited.