''A Mother's Confession'' is a

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January *January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 * ...

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

written and directed by

Ivan Abramson Ivan Abramson (1869 – September 15, 1934) was a director of United States, American silent films in the 1910s and 1920s.Klein, Uru (10 December 2009)Cinema in the time of war, ''Haaretz'' Abramson emigrated to the United States from the Russia ...

, and starring

Christine Mayo Christine Mayo (December 25, 1883 – January 9, 1961) was a silent film actress. Biography Mayo was featured in Femme fatale, vamp roles produced by Fox Film Corporation, Metro Pictures, World Film Corporation, and Ivan Film Productions, In ...

and Austin Webb.(21 August 1915)
A Mother's Confession
''

The Moving Picture World The ''Moving Picture World'' was an influential early trade journal for the American film industry, from 1907 to 1927. An industry powerhouse at its height, ''Moving Picture World'' frequently reiterated its independence from the film studios. ...

Plot and background

Typical of Ivan Abramson's exploitation dramas, this film chooses to explore the ills of

illegal marriage Illegal may refer to: Law * Violation of law ** Crime, an act committed in violation of criminal law * An illegal immigrant Entertainment * ''The Illegal'' (novel) (2015), by Canadian writer Lawrence Hill * '' Illegal - Justice, Out of Or ...

. Henry Patterson, played by

Otto Kruger Otto Kruger (September 6, 1885 – September 6, 1974) was an American actor. Originally a Broadway matinée idol, he established a niche as a charming villain in films, such as in Alfred Hitchcock's ''Saboteur (film), Saboteur'' (1942) and Dougla ...

, is married to Lola (

) and living in Chicago with their young son Harold. But Henry also marries rich heiress Louise Douglas in Denver (where he finds his mining interests to be worthless) to save his family from poverty. Both wives are kept in the dark about this

bigamy In a culture where only monogamous relationships are legally recognized, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their mar ...

. When Henry returns years later and confesses to Lola, he is accidentally killed by Lola's friend (and love interest) Fred Warren. Lola marries Fred after he is found not guilty of murder. Later, Lola's son falls in love with his half-sister Muriel Warren, and Lola rushes to stop the marriage—confessing her sins to the priest. Muriel becomes a nun, and Lola goes to live with Harold.A Mother's Confession

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...

, Retrieved November 3, 2011(9 September 1917)
A Mother's Confession
''Odgenburg News''(4 September 1915)
A Mother's Confession (review)
''

''(25 September 1915
Ivan Film Productions, Inc. (long plot summary)
''

'' The film was banned by the

British Board of Film Censors The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of films A film, also known as a movie ...

in 1916.Green, Jonathon & Nicholas J. Karolides
The encyclopedia of censorship
p. 76-77 (2005)

Chadwick Pictures Chadwick Pictures was an American film production and distribution company active during the silent and early sound eras. It was originally established in New York by Isaac E. Chadwick (1884 – 1952) in 1920 to release films, but from 1924 also ...

re-released a re-edited version of the film in 1920 as ''A Wife's Story''.

Cast

as Lola Patterson *Austin Webb as Fred Warren *

as Henry Patterson *Margaret Adair as Muriel Warren * Carrie Reynolds(27 October 1916)
Photoplays on the Program Next Week
''Washington Times'' (confirms that Carrie Reynolds is the same as the former Broadway performer) *Sidney L. Mason *Ned Nye

References

External links

* *
A Mother's Confession
' at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mother's Confession 1915 films American black-and-white films American silent feature films Films directed by Ivan Abramson American exploitation films 1910s American films