''The Love Letter'' is a 1923 American

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 ...

directed by

King Baggot William King Baggot (November 7, 1879 – July 11, 1948) was an American actor, film director and screenwriter. He was an internationally famous movie star of the silent film era. The first individually publicized leading man in America ...

and written by Hugh Hoffman. The film stars Gladys Walton, Fontaine La Rue, George Cooper, Edward Hearn,

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among ...

, and

Alberta Lee Alberta Lee (1860–1928) was an American stage and film actress of the silent era. In 1915, she appeared as Mary Todd Lincoln in ''The Birth of a Nation''.Reinhart p.56 Selected filmography * ''The Birth of a Nation'' (1915) * ''Reggie Mixes I ...

. The film was released on February 9, 1923, by

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

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 ...

, Mary Ann McKee (Walton) is released from an overalls factory for secreting mash notes in the pockets of the finished clothing. An answer she received appeals to her and she shows it to her steady beau Red Mike Johnson, who jealously warns her to write no more love letters. Red Mike forces her to act as a lookout while his gang pulls a robbery that night. Mike is caught, but Mary Ann escapes and flees the city, deciding to look up the author of the letter that appealed to her. In the country she finds its author, Bill Carter (Hearn), a young village blacksmith. it turns out that he did not actually write the letter, it having been sent by his friends as a joke on him. He decides to assist her and induces the village minister Reverend Halloway (Whitman) and his wife (Lee) to adopt Mary Ann. Later Bill marries Mary Ann and their life is made happy by the arrival of a child. Then one day Red Mike appears, demanding the money he gave Mary Ann the night of the robbery but which she had thrown away. He is determined to take Mary Ann back with him to the city. Bill comes into the home and Red Mike covers him with a gun. Knowing that her husband might be killed, Mary Ann lies and tells Red Mike that she loves him. Heart-broken, Bill collapses into a chair. Mary Ann picks up her baby to kiss it goodbye. Seeing in Mary Ann the attitude of the Madonna stirs the religious faith of Red Mike, and with a confession he leaves.

Cast

* Gladys Walton as Mary Ann McKee * Fontaine La Rue as Kate Smith * George Cooper as Red Mike Johnson * Edward Hearn as Bill Carter *

as Reverend Halloway *

as Mrs. Halloway *Lucy Donahue as Mrs. Carter

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Love Letter 1923 films 1920s English-language films Silent American drama films 1923 drama films Universal Pictures films Films directed by King Baggot American silent feature films American black-and-white films 1920s American films