''The Prodigal Wife'' is a lost 1918 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

Frank Reicher Frank Reicher (born Franz Reichert; December 2, 1875 – January 19, 1965) was a German-born American actor, director and producer. He is best known for playing Captain Englehorn in the 1933 film ''King Kong''. Early life Reicher was born in M ...

and starring

Mary Boland Mary Boland (born Marie Anne Boland; January 28, 1882 – June 23, 1965) was an American stage and film actress. Early years Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Boland was the daughter of repertory actor William Augustus Boland, and his wife ...

. It is based on a short story by Edith Barnard Delano that appeared in ''

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...

''. The film may have been rereleased in 1919 as a 5-reeler.

Plot

As described in a

film magazine Film periodicals combine discussion of individual films, genres and directors with in-depth considerations of the medium and the conditions of its production and reception. Their articles contrast with film reviewing in newspapers and magazines whi ...

, Dr. Frederick Farnham (Bloomer) and his wife Marion (Boland) live a precarious existence in a cheap boarding house. Unhappy because she believes she is neglected, Marna runs off with another boarder who says he has "struck it rich". Dr. Farnham returns home to tell his wife that their days of poverty are over as he has obtained a position on the staff of a hospital, but finds that he and his four-year-old daughter Marna have been deserted. He tells her that her mother is dead and was a wonderful person. Marion goes down and down and becomes a shell of her former self and believes her daughter is dead. Years later, driven to extreme poverty, the mother determines to seek her husband out to obtain some relief. The doctor is now well-to-do and Marna (Cotton) has grown to womanhood. Marion goes to the doctor's home and does not find him there, but discovers her daughter in the flesh before her. Adroitly she finds out that Marna worships her "dead" mother, and Marion leaves, determined to sin no more. Marna marries a writer, Dallas Harvey (Gordon), and Marion becomes the family nursemaid after Marna has a child. When temptation comes to Marna the same way it did to Marion years earlier, Marion divulges her story and saves her daughter from sin. Dr. Farnham overhears the counsel and forgives his wife and begs her to return to him, but she refuses, declaring that she intends to devote her life to saving others just as she saved her daughter.

Cast

as Marion Farnham *

Lucy Cotton Lucy Cotton (August 29, 1895 – 12 December 1948) was an American actress who appeared in 12 films from 1910 to 1921. Biography Cotton was born in Houston, Texas and died in Miami Beach, Florida.

as Marna Farnham *

Raymond Bloomer Raymond Bloomer (December 9, 1886 – November 1, 1948), was an American actor. He appeared in 22 films between 1913 and 1927. After receiving a scholarship, Bloomer left Rochester, New York, when he was 18 and went to New York to study mu ...

as Dr. Frederick Farnham *Alfred Kappeler as Thomas Byrne *

Harris Gordon Harris Gordon (July 4, 1884-March 31, 1947) was an American actor born in Glenside, Pennsylvania. He married actress Louise Emerald Bates. She later remarried to Edmund Mortimer and became Louise Bates Mortimer. Filmography *''The Picture of ...

as Dallas Harvey *

Vincent Coleman Vincent Coleman (February 16, 1900 – October 26, 1971) was an American stage and film actor of the silent film era of the late 1910s and early 1920s. Biography Born in Louisiana, Coleman began his acting career while still a young boy; tourin ...

as Victor Middleton *Mrs. Stuart Robson (aka

May Waldron May Waldron (born Mary Dougherty, November 1, 1861 or 1868 – December 22, 1924), and later known as May Waldron Robson, was a Canadian-born American actress. Early life Mary Waldron Dougherty was born in Hamilton, Ontario, the daughter of ...

) as Mrs. Dovey

References

External links

*
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Wayback) 1918 films American silent feature films Lost American drama films Films based on short fiction Films directed by Frank Reicher 1918 drama films American black-and-white films Silent American drama films 1918 lost films English-language drama films 1910s American films 1910s English-language films {{1910s-drama-film-stub