The Great Experiment (1915)
John Morning, rich, without family, dreams of things that might have been. He discovers a poverty-stricken woman who is fatally injured, takes her to her home in the slum district, where she dies, and John Morning assumes charge of the woman's daughter of fourteen, Ritta. He determines to try his "great experiment," and Ritta is unaware of whom her benefactor is. He gives the girl wealth, and then for five years buries himself with a scientific expedition in India. At the end of that time his lawyer informs him that Ritta has been sent abroad with his spinster sister. In Bombay, John Morning again encounters Ritta and her chaperon and is introduced to the girl as John Morning, a friend of the family. He learns to love Ritta, which fact fills him with grief, for at forty-five he knows he is old enough to be her father. Besides, he has received a letter from a young man telling him that he wants to marry Ritta. John and Ritta become good friends on board ship. She confides to John of how years ago a stranger had taken her from poverty and despair and given her all she possessed today. "I would repay him with my life if I could learn who he is," she says. John decides that he cannot honorably disclose himself, nor can he honorably tell her of his love. He makes up his mind to leave the ship. He writes a note to Ritta's chaperon of his determination. Ritta finds the note, conceals herself and overhears their conversation. She immediately devises a scheme whereby she will make John Morning believe that she loves him, without letting him know that she has discovered his identity. Ritta writes a letter to the man back home that it is impossible for her to marry him, that she does not love him, but that she loves a man who does not seem to care for her. She causes John to find this note, and his despair gives way to joy. She shows her benefactor that her love for him is real, that she has found her ideal and after all, even though he is forty-five, she loves him.
All Releases
Domestic
–
–
International
–
–
Worldwide
–
–
GenresDrama
Short
IMDbPro
See more details at IMDbPro
| Filmmakers | Role |
|---|---|
| Tom Santschi | Director |
| James Oliver Curwood | Writer |
| William Nicholas Selig | Producer |
| Cast | Role |
|---|---|
| Tom Santschi | |
| Bessie Eyton | |
| Lafe McKee | |
| Helen Castle |
