Who else would have directed a film with a title of such thundering moralistic drama but film pioneer J. Stuart Blackton? Americans in the 1920s were horrified at the growing divorce statistics, so the failure of marriage became a popular and sensational subject for motion pictures. This marriage drama was based on a novel by Basil King. When Harry Vassali (Leslie Austen) gets engaged to Petrina Faneuil (Pauline Frederick), Dick Lechmere (Lou Tellegen) warns him that his own marriage to an opera singer failed because of her ambition. The couple marries anyway, but their differences of opinion split apart their union. Although Petrina never stops loving her former husband, pride keeps them apart, and she marries Lechmere. Lechmere's ex-wife returns, her voice gone, and Lechmere gets back together with her. When she dies, he commits suicide. In her suffering, Petrina turns to the only man she could ever trust -- Vassali -- and they are reunited.
by Janiss Garza
synopsis
