The Painted Lady's Child (1914)
Henry Staples, Sr., multi-millionaire, hard and cold, is wrapped up in his only son and his millions. He discovers through detectives that his son is infatuated with a woman. He surprises his son with the information and compels him to break with the woman or lose his inheritance. The son gives up the woman. It breaks the woman's heart and almost unbalances her mind. In this state the woman takes her child and goes to the man's house. He turns her out into the hallway and upon opening the door discovers the child under a dome of light. Momentarily softened he offers the woman money, but she is so stung and agitated that she spurns his money. She drifts down the social grade and in her extremity becomes a painted lady and soon comes to an unhappy end. A lodging house neighbor, an old music master, Herr Von Pelzer, takes pity on the little orphaned girl and realizing the danger of her growing up in the lodging house atmosphere with the inclinations which she might inherit from her mother, takes her into a new environment into a country village. At the age of sixteen the girl meets a gallant young artist on a visit to his native village who extricates her from a bad bunch of young ruffians, and the girl forms an instant love for him. Herr Von Pelzer, knowing the young man to be a great favorite of the ladies, encounters his ward and the young artist at his gate. He tells the young man to be gone, and gently taking his ward into his room tells her of her mother and makes her pray to her God to deliver her from men like the young artist, David Wagner. In the course of time Von Pelzer, who has devoted his life to bringing up the painted lady's child, dies unknown to fame, but contented as he has helped the little girl to grow into pure womanhood and ready for life's battles. Thrown upon her own resources she returns to the city and in looking for lodgings encounters David Wagner, the artist. They recognize happily, and David, the true gentleman, takes her to his old nurse and advises her to make the place her home. He leaves her here to attend a gay party given by his great friend, patron and admirer, Staples, Jr., who in the meantime has fallen heir to his father's millions. The next day, Elsie Von Pelzer, so-called, tells David the story of her mother and shows him her mother's photograph. David, the artist, out of kindness and sentiment, takes the photo and Elsie to his studio and begins the painting. By an ironical situation, Staples, Jr., enters his friend's studio just as Elsie Von Pelzer is leaving. He asks David, "Who is the dame?" a remark which Wagner, the artist, resents. While in the studio Staples, Jr., sees the photograph of his dead wife. He asks David who the woman is. The artist says, "Why she is the mother of the young girl who just left the studio." Staples then realizes that he passed his own daughter in a doorway. He goes to his house terribly agitated and decides to own his disgrace and telephones David to bring Miss Von Pelzer to the Staples mansion. When they arrive the girl stands under the same lighted dome she stood under 15 years before and where her father last saw her. Staples, Jr., goes to a steel box and produces the marriage license and a mate to the photograph which the daughter possessed of her dead mother. He makes the confession and offers to take his daughter home. David Wagner, his dearest friend, denounces him and his own daughter disowns him as her father. The only favor she asks is the marriage license. They leave him and go back to the old nurse of David Wagner's where they express their love for one another. Broken and disowned by friend and daughter, Staples, Jr., becomes a craven creature and has only his money as a life interest.
All Releases
Domestic
–
–
International
–
–
Worldwide
–
–
GenresDrama
Short
IMDbPro
See more details at IMDbPro
| Filmmakers | Role |
|---|---|
| Sydney Ayres | Director |
| Reginald McKinstry | Writer |
| Cast | Role |
|---|---|
| William Garwood | |
| Vivian Rich | |
| Jack Richardson | |
| Harry De Vere |
