Born Again (1914)

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

The title to this drama has nothing to do with fundamental Christianity, but it is very typical of the mores of its day, in which bigamy and illegitimacy were ruinous scandals. Within that context, it contains several clichés that would become extremely common motion picture situations. Dorothy Grey (Beulah Poynter) runs away from her mean stepmother and becomes a successful actress. She throws it all away, however, to marry millionaire George Dunbar (Octav Luzon). On their wedding night, Dunbar hosts a drunken party and when Dorothy shows her displeasure, he strikes her on the head. This causes her to lose her memory and she wanders to a farm house where she is taken in by Mrs. Marsh, a widow, and her son, Jeff (John Burroughs). Although Dorothy's mind returns, her memory doesn't and eventually she and Jeff marry. Only after they have a baby does her past come back to her, and she is panicked because she is married to two men. She tells this to the doctor (George Middleton), who informs her that Dunbar was killed in a car crash not more than 30 minutes before she and Jeff married! Thankful for this cinematic contrivance, Dorothy happily gives herself over to motherhood.