''Padlocked'' is a 1926 American silent

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Allan Dwan Allan Dwan (born Joseph Aloysius Dwan; April 3, 1885 – December 28, 1981) was a pioneering Canadian-born American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter. Early life Born Joseph Aloysius Dwan in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Dwan was ...

and written by

Rex Beach Rex Ellingwood Beach (September 1, 1877 – December 7, 1949) was an American novelist, playwright, and Olympic water polo player. Early life Rex Beach was born in Atwood, Michigan, and moved to Tampa, Florida, with his family where his father ...

, Becky Gardiner, and James Shelley Hamilton. The film stars Lois Moran,

Noah Beery Sr. Noah Nicholas Beery (January 17, 1882 – April 1, 1946) was an American actor who appeared in films from 1913 until his death in 1946. He was the older brother of Academy Award-winning actor Wallace Beery as well as the father of characte ...

, Louise Dresser,

Helen Jerome Eddy Helen Jerome Eddy (February 25, 1897 – January 27, 1990) was a movie actress from New York City. She was noted as a character actress who played genteel heroines in films such as '' Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm'' (1917). Early years Eddy was bor ...

, Allan Simpson,

Florence Turner Florence Turner (January 6, 1885 – August 28, 1946) was an American actress who became known as the "Vitagraph Girl" in early silent films. Biography Born in New York City, Turner was pushed into appearing on the stage at age three by h ...

, and

Richard Arlen Richard Arlen (born Sylvanus Richard Mattimore, September 1, 1899 – March 28, 1976) was an American actor of film and television. Early days Arlen served in Canada as a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I. He later taught as ...

. The film was released on August 2, 1926, by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

Plot

Edith is the daughter of Henry Gilbert, a Christian devoted to moral reform but hypocritically infatuated with his assistant, Belle Galloway. Her life is strictly regulated - she writes her thoughts in a padlocked diary, and keeps her possessions in a "hopeless chest". On her 17th birthday, she and her mother throw a raucous party on a day when her father is away giving a speech on moral virtue. He comes home early and finds a dress-up party in full swing. Furious, he tells his wife that she is an unfit mother and will be sending Edith away to live with relatives. During a fight, Henry knocks his wife unconscious and accidentally turns on a gas fireplace before locking her in her room, suffocating her to death. Edith runs away to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and becomes a dancer in a burlesque show. Norman Van Pelt, a young patron at the club, falls in love with her, but she rebuffs his advances. She is also noticed by Monte Hermann, an elderly millionaire with an unnatural interest in teenage girls. Mr. Hermann leverages an accomplice, Mrs. Alcott, to lure both Edith and Norman to his

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

mansion, where Norman is manipulated into believing that Edith is in a relationship with Mr. Hermann. Heartbroken, he leaves for a vacation in Europe. Meanwhile, Henry marries Belle Galloway. He discovers that his daughter is a cabaret dancer and has her arrested by the police. The judge orders Edith to return to live with her father and new stepmother - she refuses, declaring that her mother is dead and she has no father. She is then ordered to spend 3 years at a

reformatory A reformatory or reformatory school is a youth detention center or an adult correctional facility popular during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Western countries. In the United Kingdom and United States, they came out of social concern ...

. Henry's new wife Belle quickly drops her moral-reformist attitudes. She gets a short

flapper Flappers were a subculture of young Western women prominent after the First World War and through the 1920s who wore short skirts (knee length was considered short during that period), bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their ...

haircut and begins spending her husband's money lavishly. She also invites her entire family to live with her, including her alcoholic mother and lothario brother (played by a 17-year-old

Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Douglas Elton Fairbanks Jr. (December 9, 1909 – May 7, 2000) was an American actor, producer, and decorated naval officer of World War II. He is best-known for starring in such films as '' The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1937), '' Gunga Din'' (1939), ...

). Henry, realizing his mistake, spends half his fortune to get her and her family to leave. Monte Hermann and Mrs. Alcott come to the reformatory and bail out a traumatized Edith, taking her to live at his mansion. When Hermann attempts to seduce her, Mrs. Alcott has a moment of moral clarity and warns Edith about his intentions. Norman Van Pelt also arrives, having been forewarned by Mrs. Alcott and recalled from Naples. Edith still has to return to the reformatory, but is released by her father, and they reconcile. She agrees to marry Norman Van Pelt and they live happily ever after.

Cast

Preservation status

A surviving print of ''Padlocked'' is in the Národní Filmový Archiv in

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. In 2023, this sole extant print was restored by the

San Francisco Silent Film Festival The San Francisco Silent Film Festival is a film festival first held in 1996 and presented annually at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, California, United States. It is the largest silent film festival in the United States, although the largest ...

and screened for the first time since 1926.

References

External links

* 1926 films 1920s English-language films Silent American drama films 1926 drama films Paramount Pictures films Films directed by Allan Dwan American black-and-white films American silent feature films Films based on works by Rex Beach 1920s American films English-language drama films {{1920s-drama-film-stub