''Her Bitter Cup'' (alternate title ''A Heart's Crucible'') is a 1916 American

silent film A silent film is a film with no 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, when ...

directed by

Cleo Madison Cleo Madison (born Lulu Bailey; March 26, 1883 – March 11, 1964) was a theatrical and silent film actress, screenwriter, producer, and director who was active in Hollywood during the silent era. Madison began her career on the stage. B ...

. One of only two feature-length films directed by Madison, she also played the leading role, a fervent labor organizer who uses drastic methods to finance her cause of improving the miserable lot of the workers in a factory. The film is presumed

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

Synopsis

Factory worker Rethna (Madison) comes from an impoverished background. Her ''raison d'être'' is to improve the miserable lot of her fellow workers; her chief foe is the cruel factory-owner. Rethna begins a sexual relationship with Henry Burke (William Mong), the owner's disreputable son, and obtains money from him which she funnels to the workers, doing with Burke's money what she believes the Burkes ought to be doing anyway. After a year, she breaks off her relationship with Henry and marries his brother Walter (Edward Hearn), the better man of the two. She continues to support the factory workers with Burke money, and is eventually found out by her husband. Confronted by Walter, who truly loves her, she tells him that she married him only to gain access to his money and avenge the wrongs done by his family; faced with this admission, Walter leaves Rethna. While Rethna is at the factory pleading with her father-in-law for better working conditions, a fire breaks out. Rethna is badly burned while saving the elder Burke's life, and is herself saved by Walter. During her convalescence she realizes that she loves her husband and the two are reconciled. Because of the fire, Walter's father at last resolves to improve conditions at his factory.

Cast

as Rethna *

William Mong William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

as Henry Burke * Edward Hearn as Walter Burke *

Ray Hanford Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gra ...

as Factory foreman *

Adele Farrington Adele Farrington (1867 – 19 December 1936) was an American actress of the silent film era. Biography Born Anna King in Brooklyn, New York, Farrington was a stage actress before appearing in 74 films between 1914 and 1926. She was a relatively ...

as Mary McDougal *

Lule Warrenton Lule Warrenton (June 22, 1862 – May 14, 1932) was an American actress, director, and producer during the silent film era. She appeared in more than 80 films between 1913 and 1922. She was born in Flint, Michigan and died in Laguna Beach, C ...

as Boardinghouse woman *

Willis Marks Willis Marks (August 20, 1865, Rochester, Minnesota, United States – December 6, 1952, Los Angeles, California) was an American silent film actor. Biography In 1888, Marks debuted on stage professionally. He acted in Oliver Morosco's stock c ...

Production

Once Cleo Madison achieved star status at

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a t ...

, she lobbied for and was given the chance to direct. After directing numerous

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

s in 1915, Madison directed two feature films, the second of which was ''Her Bitter Cup''.

Reception

A contemporary review in the trade paper ''Motion Picture News'' gave a mixed opinion of the film, acknowledging Madison's skill and the story overall but expressing confusion about the resolution of the plot. In ''Moving Picture World'', the review also expressed reservations, "The story is quite strong in some respects, but certain features seem to lack proper significance." The review in the ''New York Clipper'' was unfavorable and summed up bluntly, "It's so bad it's funny."

References

;Notes ;Citations {{reflist, refs= {{cite web, title=Her Bitter Cup , work=Catalog of Feature Films , publisher=

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leade ...

, url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=1&Movie=14133 , accessdate=2015-06-29 {{cite web, title=Her Bitter Cup/Cleo Madison , work=American Silent Feature Film Database , publisher=Library of Congress , url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.mbrs.sfdb.6043/default.html , accessdate=2015-06-29 {{cite encyclopedia , last=Cooper , first=Mark Garrett , title=Cleo Madison, editor1=Jane Gaines , editor2=Radha Vatsal , editor3=Monica Dall'Asta, work=Women Film Pioneers Project , publisher=Columbia University Libraries , date=September 27, 2013 , url=https://wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu/pioneer/ccp-cleo-madison/ , accessdate=2015-06-29 {{cite journal , last=Milne , first=Peter , authorlink=Peter Milne (screenwriter) , title=Her Bitter Cup , department=Screen Examinations , journal=

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'', founded ...

, volume=13 , issue=14 , page=2062 , url=https://archive.org/stream/motionpicturenew132unse#page/n837/mode/1up , date=April 8, 1916 , accessdate=2015-06-29 {{cite journal , title=Universal Film Mfg. Company Specials , journal=

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. I ...

, department=Comments on the Films , volume=28 , issue=4 , page=648 , url=https://archive.org/stream/movwor28chal#page/648/mode/1up , date=April 22, 1916 , accessdate=2015-10-20 {{cite journal , title=Her Bitter Cup , journal=

New York Clipper The ''New York Clipper'', also known as ''The Clipper'', was a weekly entertainment newspaper published in New York City from 1853 to 1924. It covered many topics, including circuses, dance, music, the outdoors, sports, and theatre. It had a ...

, department=Picture Play Reports , date=April 1, 1916 , volume=LXIV , issue=8 , page=37 , url=https://archive.org/stream/Clipper64-1916-04#page/n36/mode/1up , accessdate=2015-10-20 1916 drama films 1916 films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Lost American films Universal Pictures films Silent American drama films 1916 lost films Lost drama films 1910s American films