''Faith'' (also known as ''The Virtuous Outcast'') is a 1916 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. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by James Kirkwood and starring

Mary Miles Minter Mary Miles Minter (born Juliet Reilly; April 25, 1902Louisiana Birth Certificate, Caddo Parish, No. 119, Book A, Page 97, Birth Date: April 25, 1902, Name: Mary M. Reilly ic – Original Caddo birth record was recorded as "J.H. Riley's Child" ...

. It was the first of Minter's films to also feature her older sister Margaret Shelby. The film survives and is preserved at George Eastman House, Rochester.

Plot

As described in

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:// ...

magazine:

Helen Thorpe (Thorne) is secretly married to a man her father (Burton) disapproves of. Her husband is killed and when approaching motherhood forces Helen to confess her secret marriage her father is furiously angry. When the baby is born, Thorpe places it in an orphan asylum, telling Helen that it died. Only the housekeeper and Thorpe know the truth. Some fifteen years later, Thorpe has married again and is treating his step-daughter, seventeen-year-old Laura (Shelby), in the same rigorous way he had trained Helen, and she too is enmeshed in a secret love affair. Helen, a saddened woman, is unable to influence her father. And Faith (Minter), Helen's daughter, is in an orphan asylum. Only the old housekeeper has kept track of Faith, and she seizes an opportunity to bring the girl into the Thorpe home as a servant. Faith, whose life is kept bright by the belief that "God's in His Heaven. All's right with the world," has always dreamed of miraculously discovering that she has a mother. This belief makes her unusually solicitous for the mothers of others. So when Laura, the daughter of the house, having come to grief through her clandestine love affair, steals money from Thorpe's safe, Faith assumes the guilt in order to save, not Laura, but Laura's mother. Faith, however, had been kind not only to mothers, but had played "Little Sunshine" to the neighbourhood in general, and had won as a friend Mark Strong (Banks), once a brilliant lawyer, now a derelict. When Strong learns of the affair, he uses his dormant power to free the girl, and of course his investigations disclose the fact of Faith's parentage and of Thorpe's roguery. Faith finds her mother, and all those who deserve happiness are given it.

Cast

- Faith *

Perry Banks Perry Banks (24 April 1877 in Victoria, British Columbia Canada – 10 October 1934 in Santa Barbara, California) was a Canadian silent film actor. He starred with William Garwood in films such as ''Sir Galahad of Twilight''. Selected film ...

- Mark Strong *

Clarence Burton Clarence Forrest Burton (May 10, 1882 – December 2, 1933) was an American silent film actor. Biography Burton was born in Fort Lyon, in Benton County, Missouri and started in show business at the age of 5, playing stock and musical comedy ...

- John Thorpe *

Lizette Thorne Lizette Thorne (24 November 1882 – 3 November 1970) was an English-born silent film actress. She starred in 45 films in her career, including '' The Thoroughbred'' and '' The Bruiser'' with actress Charlotte Burton. Thorne's film career be ...

- Helen * Margaret Shelby - Laura * Josephine Taylor - Mrs. Thorpe *

Gertrude Le Brandt Gertrude Le Brandt (July 1, 1863 in Illinois – August 28, 1955 in Hollywood) was an American silent film actress. She entered film in 1916 in ''Youth's Endearing Charm'' with actors such as Mary Miles Minter and Harry von Meter. Filmograp ...

- Mrs. Stimson

Reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' noticed that producers of the film were attempting to make leading actress Minter famous with this picture, but gave all credit to Banks, stating he "walked away with this film".

References

External links

* 1916 films 1916 drama films Silent American drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films directed by James Kirkwood Sr. 1910s American films {{1910s-drama-film-stub