''The Branded Woman'' is a 1920 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 ...

released by

First National Pictures First National Pictures was an American motion picture production and distribution company. It was founded in 1917 as First National Exhibitors' Circuit, Inc., an association of independent theatre owners in the United States, and became the count ...

. It stars Norma Talmadge who also produced the film along with her husband Joseph Schenck through their production company, Norma Talmadge Productions. The film is based on a 1917 Broadway play ''Branded'', by Oliver D. Bailey and was adapted for the screen by Anita Loos and Albert Parker who also directed.

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 ...

, Ruth Sawyer (Talmadge) is the unhappy victim of a notorious marriage between her parents. Her grandfather Judge Whitlock (Fawcett) disowns his son and makes the wife Dot Belmar (Studdiford) swear never to claim her daughter. The judge adopts Ruth under the name Sawyer and is known to her only as her guardian. Dot is now associated with Velvet Craft (Serrano) who runs a gambling house. Dot decides to hit at the judge through Ruth by breaking her promise and goes to see her at a fashionable boarding school. Dot is recognized as a notorious woman and Ruth is dismissed as an undesirable student. Her mother takes Ruth to the gambling den and initiates her to its loathsome secrets. When the judge returns from Europe, he immediately goes to Ruth and saves her from the degradation of such a life. Later he has the den closed. Ruth is broken up over her branded name. The judge introduces her to Douglas Courtenay (Marmont), a youthful British diplomat. Douglas is recalled to Paris where a valuable post is awarded him. The Judge and Ruth cross over to Europe on the same ship. Following her grandfather's advice, Ruth does not tell Douglas her story. Several years pass, and Ruth and Douglas are happy in Paris with their baby daughter, and Douglas has steadily advanced in his career. Velvet enters Ruth's life, and she gives him money to buy his silence. She slips, however, when she gives Velvet several large pearls from a necklace. The firm where her husband bought it discovers this when he brings the necklace to add two more pearls. The jewelry house puts a detective on Ruth and Velvet's trail. Ruth finally is forced to confess, and Douglas puts the wrong light on her explanation and says his faith in her is destroyed. Ruth returns to her grandfather's house. Several months later Douglas, thoroughly repentant, finds her, and they leave in happiness.

Cast

* Norma Talmadge as Ruth Sawyer * Percy Marmont as Douglas Courtenay * Vincent Serrano as Velvet Craft * George Fawcett as Judge Whitlock * Grace Studdiford as Dot Belmar (aka Grace Van Studdiford) *

Gaston Glass Gaston Glass (born Jacques Gaston Oscar Glass; December 31, 1899 – November 11, 1965) was a French-American actor and film producer. He was the father of the composer Paul Glass (born 1934). Selected filmography * ''The Corsican Broth ...

as William Whitlock * Jean Armour as Mrs. Bolton * Edna Murphy as Vivian Bolton * Henry Carvill as Henry Bolton (credited as H.J. Carvill) * Charles Lane as Herbert Averill * Sidney Herbert as Detective * Edouard Durand as Jeweler * Henrietta Floyd as Miss Weir

Preservation status

A print of ''The Branded Woman'' is preserved in the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The librar ...

collection.The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: ''The Branded Woman''
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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Branded Woman, The 1920 films 1920 drama films Silent American drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films American films based on plays Films directed by Albert Parker First National Pictures films Films with screenplays by Anita Loos Films produced by Joseph M. Schenck 1920s American films