A Leaf from the Past (1914)
Henry Wilson, son of a jeweler, has a past attachment for Madge Rose, a fascinating woman who afterward proves to be a society thief. Henry knows nothing of the woman's past. In the nick of time his distracted father persuades him to give up the girl. Madge, furious, waits for a chance to avenge herself. Later Henry meets Eve Devereaux, who lives with her uncle in the city. Unknown to Henry, Eve too has a secret in her past. Her husband was a criminal who was killed in escaping from the penitentiary. When Henry proposes marriage to Eve, the fear that a revelation of her secret might destroy her future causes her to remain quiet. Henry and Eve start married life in unalloyed bliss. Meanwhile Madge meets with Dick Trent, another crook. Trent was with Eve's husband when he escaped from jail and knows that Eve is the widow of the dead criminal. Trent and Madge then decide to operate a double scheme of blackmail. Trent exacts "hush" money from Eve through surreptitious visits to her home. Madge, on the other hand, terrifies Henry by threatening to take the letters he had written to her unless he pays her what she demands. Each try to keep their secret. Eve and Henry live in a state of fear. Madge and Trent then discover that valuable jewelry is being kept by Henry's father in the family home, concealed in a small safe in the study. They resolve to secure it after each has made one more trip to his and her victim. On the following day, Madge pays Henry a visit in the jewelry shop and exacts a large sum from him. Eve, in terror lest her next tribute to Trent cannot be paid, goes to Henry's office to ask him for money. When he is forced to refuse her, she exhibits such terror that his suspicions are aroused and he follows her home. Madge, through a former appointment, has proceeded also to the Wilson home to meet Trent and to affect the safe robbery. Eve is surprised by Trent and forced to open the safe at the point of a revolver. As Henry enters the house downstairs he is met by Madge, who attempts to detain him at the point of a pistol. Detectives who have followed arrive. As the officers struggle with Madge, Henry hears a terrified scream from above. He seizes Madge's revolver and hurries upstairs. He finds the study door locked; he smashes the door with a chair and enters to find Eve desperately hanging on to Trent's revolver. Trent leaps upon Henry just as Eve faints. A fight follows and detectives rush in just in time to see Henry save his own life by killing Trent. Madge is led away to jail. Eve, unable to keep on her mind the burden that has tortured her for a week, tells everything. Henry shows her where he has been equally to blame for not confiding with her about his own past.
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Domestic
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International
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Worldwide
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GenresDrama
Short
IMDbPro
See more details at IMDbPro
| Filmmakers | Role |
|---|---|
| Lloyd B. Carleton | Director |
| Shannon Fife | Writer |
| Siegmund Lubin | Producer |
| Cast | Role |
|---|---|
| Edwin Barbour | |
| Ormi Hawley | |
| Edward Peil Sr. | |
| Lila Leslie |
