''Her Story'' is a 1920 British 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

Alexander Butler Alexander Butler was a British film director who made over sixty features and short films during the 1910s and 1920s including many for G. B. Samuelson's production company. Butler directed several British films in Hollywood in 1920, where Samuel ...

and starring

Madge Titheradge Madge Titheradge (2 July 1887 14 November 1961) was an Australian-born actress who became a leading actress in the West End of London and on Broadway. She began as a child actress before the First World War, and went on to star in the 1920s and ...

Campbell Gullan Campbell Gullan (1881, in Glasgow – 1 December 1939, in New York City) was a Scottish actor. Partial filmography * ''Caste'' (1915) - Sam Gerridge * ''Far from the Madding Crowd'' (1915) * ''The Great Adventure'' (1916) - Reporter * '' A Plac ...

, and

C. M. Hallard Charles Maitland Hallard (26 October 1865 – 21 April 1942) was a Scottish actor. In 1895 he appeared in the popular drama ''Trilby (play), Trilby'' with Herbert Beerbohm Tree at the Haymarket Theatre. Selected filmography * ''Convict 99 (191 ...

. A happily married woman's life is thrown into turmoil when a Russian criminal from her past escapes from jail and comes to visit her. It was one of several films made by the British producer

G. B. Samuelson George Berthold Samuelson (6 July 1889 – 17 April 1947) was a director and film producer. Born in Southport, Lancashire, Samuelson was the youngest son of Henschel and Bertha Samuelson, tobacconists originally from Prussia. By 1891, his mother ...

at Universal City in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

.Low p. 139

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 ...

, an elaborate fancy dress ball at the country estate of Ralph Ashelyn (Hallard) is disrupted when Mrs. Betty Ashelyn (Titheradge) is discovered hiding an escaped convict in her room. She refuses to make any explanation concerning the presence of the convict and, realizing that there will be a sensational story in the newspapers, she starts off in an automobile for her husbands office in the city. The film then uses a flashback to delineate the story she is telling her husband. When young, she spent much time at sea with her father Thorpe, the captain of the vessel. When he dies at sea, she assumes command and takes the ship to the port of

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

in the Russian Empire. There she meets Oscar Kaplan (Gullan), a steamship agent, who pays her marked attention and finally proposes marriage. In her loneliness she finally accepts and they are married. Later, in New York City, Oscar is arrested for theft, so she goes to work in a store. There, in the toy department, she makes the acquaintance of the little daughter of Ralph Ashelyn, a steel millionaire, who engages her as the child's governess. Ralph falls in love with the governess, and she discovers that the marriage contract between her and Oscar is fraudulent and she has never been legally married. She finally accepts Ashelyn and is happy in his love and her beautiful home, but makes the mistake of not telling him of her former marriage. Oscar escapes from prison and makes his way to the Ashelyn country place, arriving there during the ball. He compels Betty to hide him under threats of exposing her. Oscar is discovered by the police and great excitement ensues. Betty then races to the city, tells her husband the story, and he forgives her for her deception.

Credited cast

as Betty Thorpe *

as Oscar Kaplan *

as Ralph Ashelyn

References

Bibliography

* Low, Rachael. ''History of the British Film, 1918-1929''. George Allen & Unwin, 1971.

External links

* * 1920 films 1920 drama films British drama films British silent feature films Films directed by Alexander Butler British black-and-white films 1920s English-language films 1920s British films Silent drama films {{1920s-UK-film-stub