''The Woman Beneath'' is a 1917 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

Travers Vale Travers Edmund Vale, born Solomon Flohm, was an English-born silent film film director, director. Raised primarily in Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia, he worked as a photographer, playwright and theatre manager there and in New Zealand pri ...

and starring

Ethel Clayton Ethel Clayton (November 8, 1882 – June 6, 1966) was an American actress of the silent film era. Early years Born in Champaign, Illinois, Clayton attended St. Elizabeth's school in Chicago. Career Clayton debuted on stage as a professional a ...

Crauford Kent Crauford Kent (12 October 1881 – 14 May 1953) was an English character actor based in the United States. He has also been credited as Craufurd Kent

and

Isabel Berwin Isabel is a female name of Iberian origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of '' Elisabeth'' (ultimately Hebrew ''Elisheba''). Arising in the 12th century, it became popul ...

. In the film, Betty Fairchild is a New York society girl who marries a mine owner for his money.

Plot

Tom Connolly, who has discovered a wealth of gold out West, falls in love with Now York social butterfly Betty Fairchild, who is much sought after by Rupert Brantley, but who does not plan to marry her. Betty is schooled by her mother to be a "good match," and when proposed to by Tom, she accepts. Tom is summoned home and witnesses the death of his sister Ellen, who has been missing for three years, but she doesn't reveal the name of the man who betrayed her. He later marries Betty, though she tells him that she doesn't love him, and over time they become strangers to each other. They move into a mansion, and Betty continues to pay visits to Brantley where he confesses that he loves her and tries to embrace her, which she rejects. Believing that Betty only cared about him for his money, Tom purposely suffers financial loss on Wall street and tells her that he is ruined. Unknown to Tom, Betty sells her jewels, cars and house, and establishes a home in Harlem for the two of them. Mrs. Fairchild urges her daughter to divorce Tom while she's still young, but Betty refuses, wanting to prove herself worthy of him. Meanwhile in Colorado, Tom's mother finds a bag with old letters and a photo of Ellen's betrayer, which proves the treachery of Brantley. She sends them to Tom, but Betty opens the letters and believing Tom's mother's handwriting to be a woman who he's in love with. She goes to Brantley, telling him he must leave the country or else her husband will kill him after seeing the letters. Tom finds her in Brantley's apartment, and accuses her of being Brantley's lover, and in order to save Brantley's life, says she is. Tom leaves, and Brantley snatches the letters from Betty and burns them. Betty returns home and finds the envelope that the letters came in, and pleads with her husband to tell Brantley "My wife has told me everything and I will kill you if I ever see you again." and it will restore his faith in her. He does as he is asked and Brantley, afraid of the consequences should Tom learn of his relations with his sister, leaves the country. Betty explains her actions and Tom confesses to purposefully losing his money, and they reunite in love and happiness.

Cast

as Betty Fairchild *

Curtis Cooksey Curtis or Curtiss is a common English given name and surname of Anglo-Norman origin, deriving from the Old French ''curteis'' (Modern French">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of Fren ...

as Tom Connolly *

as Mrs. Fairchild * Frank de Vernon as Mr. Fairchild *

Crauford Kent Crauford Kent (12 October 1881 – 14 May 1953) was an English character actor based in the United States. He has also been credited as Craufurd Kent

as Rupert Brantley * Eugenie Woodward as Mrs. Connolly

Reception

Motion Picture News The ''Motion Picture News'' was an American film industry trade paper published from 1913 to 1930. History The publication was created through the 1913 merger of the ''Moving Picture News'' founded in 1908 and ''The Exhibitors' Times'', founde ...

reviewer R.E. Pritchard felt that the film was "never convincing and though the turns of the story sometimes bring a thrill of surprise, one is convinced from the first of the certain ending." The reviewer had praise for Ethel Clayton's "charming screen presence," but found Curtis Cooksey's performance to be "always artificial." Exhibitors Herald's review was positive, stating that "It has been well produced and offers an hour of good entertainment."

Motography ''Motography'' was an American film journal that was first published in 1909 and ran until mid-1918. The magazine was published in 1909 and was originally named ''The Nickelodeon'',"Motography." The Bioscope. 9 Feb. 2009. Web. 4 Nov. 2015 http: ...

reviewer George W. Graves gave the film a mostly positive review, though he found the story to be "strained" towards the end.

Wid's Daily ''The Film Daily'' was a daily publication that existed from 1918 to 1970 in the United States. It was the first daily newspaper published solely for the film industry. It covered the latest trade news, film reviews, financial updates, informati ...

gave the film a mixed review, with the reviewer finding that the acting of Ethel Clayton and Curtis Cooksey "pulled this out of an awful hole that it would certainly have been dumped in except for the players."

Censorship

Before ''The Woman Beneath'' could be released in Chicago, the

Chicago Board of Censors The Chicago Board of Censors was a film censorship committee based in Chicago that was founded in 1907 as the Police Censor Board, and operated until 1984. It was the first film censorship board in the United States. The board had great influence o ...

required several cuts. The scenes removed were: Reel 2, subtitle: "Don't send for Tom after all he's done for me; I'm ashamed to face him." Reel 4, letter: "I am sending them to you, Tom, knowing you will never allow her betrayer, etc." Reel 5, same letter as before; subtitles: "Now that you have the name you might as well have the game"; "Tell him what you like; he won't believe you. The girl is dead."

References

External links

* 1917 films 1917 drama films 1910s American films 1910s English-language films American black-and-white films American silent feature films English-language drama films Films directed by Travers Vale Silent American drama films World Film Company films {{1910s-drama-film-stub