Wilfred Lucas wore two hats as star and director of the six-reel The Spanish Jade. Based on a novel by Louis Joseph Vance (of Lone Wolf fame), the story is set in late 19th-century Spain. The heroine, Manuela (Betty Belairs), is the much-abused daughter of brutish layabout Gil Perez (Howard Davies). Manuela falls in love with Bartolomeo (Arthur Tabares), the vagabondish son of aristocrat Don Luis (Nigel De Brulier). After various and sundry hot-blooded confrontations with Manuela's no-good father and equally odious sweetheart Tormilla (Frank Lanning), Bartolomeo wins her hand, only to prove to be as unworthy of her as all the other men in her life. At this point in time, disillusioned Britisher Manvers (Wilfred Lucas) enters the scene. Smitten by Manuela, Manvers emerges the hero of the piece by thwarting each and every one of the heroine's persecutors. Future screenwriter Bess Meredyth, the then-wife of Wilfred Lucas, plays a small supporting role.
by Hal Erickson
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