Sins Of The Parents (1914 Film)
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''Sins of the Parents'' is a
1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...
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 ...
written and directed by
Ivan Abramson Ivan Abramson (1869 – September 15, 1934) was a director of American silent films in the 1910s and 1920s.Klein, Uru (10 December 2009)Cinema in the time of war, ''Haaretz'' Abramson emigrated to the United States from Russia in the 1880s and s ...
, and starring
Sara Adler Sara Adler ( née Levitskaya, some sources give Levitsky or Levitzky; 26 May 1858 – 28 April 1953) was a Russian-born Jewish actress in Yiddish theater who made her career mainly in the United States. She was the third wife of Jacob Adler and ...
, a prominent Yiddish theatre actress in her first of two movie appearances.


Plot

As was typical of Abramson's potboilers, ''Sins of the Parents'' involves complicated and often contrived plot twists arising out of family relations of the primary characters. Laura Henderson (Adler) is an orphan, raised by her aunt Mary Sherman. Sherman runs a boarding house, and boarder Angelo Angelini (a musician) is the apple of Laura's eye. They are engaged to be married, but Angelo claims he must leave for a concert tour—but in truth he returns to his wife and child in Italy, crushing Laura. Laura gives birth an illegitimate child, Ruth, but is forced to abandon her and moves to New York, where she falls under the care of Reverend Henry Bradley. Bradley and Laura later marry, and Laura keeps the existence of Ruth a secret from Bradley. Shifting 19 years later, Bradley (now a prison chaplain) and Laura now have a daughter (Aline) who is about to become engaged to the well-to-do Walter Jordan. Meanwhile, Ruth, now 20 years old, who had believed Mary was her mother, finds out that her real mother is Laura and departs for New York to find her. Meanwhile, Angelo is now living in New York under the name Angell with his son Tony, a general ne'er do well. Tony befriends Ruth (of course not knowing she is his half-sister) under false pretenses, and plans to sell her into
white slavery White slavery (also white slave trade or white slave trafficking) refers to the slavery of Europeans, whether by non-Europeans (such as West Asians and North Africa, North Africans), or by other Europeans (for example naval galley slaves or th ...
in New Orleans. Ruth tries to escape him, and in the ensuing struggle Tony is shot dead just as Angelo enters the room. Ruth is arrested, and meets Chaplain Bradley in prison, where she divulges her story. Mary Sherman visits Ruth in prison, and then tells all to Laura. Laura breaks down when she learns that her first child is in prison, just while she had been celebrating Aline's engagement to Walter. This causes Aline, apparently out of learning of her mother's disgrace, to break off her engagement and commit suicide. Moving to Ruth's murder trial, Angelo is about to testify as a witness to his son's murder just as Laura bursts into the courtroom and recognizes Angelo. Learning that his own daughter killed his son, Angelo despairs and refuses to speak. Laura is removed from the courtroom in hysterics. The jury subsequently finds Ruth is not guilty by reason of self-defense and she is freed. Bradley brings Ruth to their home, but Laura feels unworthy of his love and plans to leave with Ruth. Bradley resigns as chaplain and insists that Laura stay. Bradley's employer refuses his resignation due to his noble acts, and Laura begs forgiveness.(22 August 1914)
Feature Film Stories
''
The 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 ...
'', p. 1146 (detailed plot summary)


Cast

*
Sara Adler Sara Adler ( née Levitskaya, some sources give Levitsky or Levitzky; 26 May 1858 – 28 April 1953) was a Russian-born Jewish actress in Yiddish theater who made her career mainly in the United States. She was the third wife of Jacob Adler and ...
as Laura Henderson * Paul Doucet * John W. Dillon * Ralf Henderson * Mabel Wright * Louise Corbin


Background and reception

''The Sins of the Parents'' was the first film produced by
Ivan Abramson Ivan Abramson (1869 – September 15, 1934) was a director of American silent films in the 1910s and 1920s.Klein, Uru (10 December 2009)Cinema in the time of war, ''Haaretz'' Abramson emigrated to the United States from Russia in the 1880s and s ...
, for his newly created Ivan Film Productions. The storyline is based on a Yiddish play titled ''God's Punishment'' (''Gots shtrof''), by
Zalmon Libin Zalmon Libin, usually known as Z. Libin (1872-1955; real name: Yisrael-Zalman Hurvits or Gurvitz), was a writer of short stories and a playwright in Yiddish theater, active around 1900. "The O. Henry of the East Side" oldberg, 1918, 688was born ...
. Lead actress
Sara Adler Sara Adler ( née Levitskaya, some sources give Levitsky or Levitzky; 26 May 1858 – 28 April 1953) was a Russian-born Jewish actress in Yiddish theater who made her career mainly in the United States. She was the third wife of Jacob Adler and ...
was a star of the Yiddish theatre and the wife of
Jacob Adler Jacob Pavlovich Adler (Yiddish: יעקבֿ פּאַװלאָװיטש אַדלער; born Yankev P. Adler; February 12, 1855 – April 1, 1926)IMDB biography was a Jewish actor and star of Yiddish theater, first in Odessa, and later in London and ...
, who Abramson had previously managed. The film is one of only two movies in which Sara Adler appeared.Pizzitola, Louis
Hearst over Hollywood
p. 119 (2002)
American national biography, Volume 1
p. 167 (1999)("Adler also acted in two silent films, Sins of the Parents (1914), based on the Yiddish play God's Punishment by Zalmen Libin, and A Recent Confederate Victory (1914)")
(22 August 1914)
Mme. Sarah Adler
''
The 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 ...
'', p. 1086.
The film reportedly opened to large crowds at the Grand Theatre in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, with Adler in attendance on opening night.(12 September 1914)
Called Out Police Reserves
''
The 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 ...
'', p. 1529.
(29 August 1914)
"Sins of the Parents": Ivan Film Productions Co., Inc. Have a Dramatic Story the Strength of Which Overshadows the Unquestioned Ability of Mme. Sarah Adler, the Star
''
The 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 ...
'', p. 1248.


References


External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0004598 *
Sins of the Parents
' at
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 ...
1914 films American black-and-white films American silent feature films Films directed by Ivan Abramson 1910s American films