And the Children Pay (1919)

Countries - United States  |   MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Janiss Garza

This moral melodrama featured cameo appearances by several important Chicago judges, and an appearance by do-gooder Kate Adams, who founded Coulter House, a home for unwed mothers. It was apparently made to urge parents to inform their children about "the facts of life." Margery Reynolds (Bliss Milford) grows up with her childhood pal, Billy Clark (Gareth Hughes). Billy's parents (J.P. Campbell and Ellen Mortemer) never instruct him properly about sex. The same goes with Margery's parents (Herbert H. Patee and Etta Mansfield), who don't realize their daughter has become a young woman. As a result, the young couple share a moment of indiscretion and Margery becomes pregnant. Billy refuses to believe the news, and Margery is tossed out of her parents' home to winds up on the streets of Chicago. Eventually she finds help. Billy is expelled from college and, on a visit to Chicago, he is seen by Margery. She has him arrested and ordered to pay child support. But the edict comes too late -- the child dies because Margery was too poor to afford medical attention for it.