''The Petal on the Current'' is a lost 1919 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-g ...

directed by

Tod Browning Tod Browning (born Charles Albert Browning Jr.; July 12, 1880 – October 6, 1962) was an American film director, film actor, screenwriter, vaudeville performer, and carnival sideshow and circus entertainer. He directed a number of films of vari ...

Plot

Based upon a description in a film magazine, Stella Schump (MacLaren) is a working girl who, on the advice of a friend Cora (Ridgeway), who is attempting to be a matchmaker, attends a party where she is supposed to meet a bashful man. He does not show up, and she has her first drink of beer. This affects her so she becomes dazed, and she leaves for home. A detective comes upon her, and after she repeats bits of conversation she heard at the party, he arrests her for being drunk and for solicitation. A night court convicts her and sentences her to ten days in jail. She writes her mother of her plight, and her mother (Claire) dies from shock upon reading the letter. After she is let out of jail, she loses her job and, after her money runs out, goes to a park and sits on a bench. A bashful man (Anderson), who is disillusioned about women, comes by. She has heard of him, but they have never met. He turns out to be a foreman at a factory, and as they talk they realize they were supposed to have met at the party. They leave together and marry.

Cast

Mary MacLaren Mary MacLaren (born Mary Ida MacDonald, also credited Mary McLaren; January 19, 1900 – November 9, 1985) was an American film actress in both the silent and sound eras."Thirteenth Census of the United States: 1910 Population", digital cop ...

as Stella Schump *

Gertrude Claire Gertrude Claire (July 16, 1852 – April 28, 1928) was an actress of the American stage and Hollywood silent motion pictures. Biography Claire was born in Chicago, Illinois, and began appearing onstage at the age of 16. She played minor roles ...

as Stella's Mother *

Fritzi Ridgeway Fredericka Berneice "Fritzi" Ridgeway (April 8, 1898 – March 29, 1961) was an American silent film actress, vaudeville performer, and hotelier. Though she starred in numerous films, she is perhaps best known for her work in silent Western films ...

as Cora Kinealy (as Fritzie Ridgeway) * Robert Anderson as John Gilley *

Beatrice Burnham Beatrice Burnham (October 2, 1902 – January 8, 1995) was an American film actress in silent films. Selected filmography * ''Ramona'' (1916) * ''Jack and Jill'' (1917) * ''The Petal on the Current'' (1919) *''Upstairs'' (1919) * ''Hitchin' Po ...

as Gertie Cobb *

Victor Potel Victor Potel (October 12, 1889 – March 8, 1947) was an American film character actor who began in the silent era and appeared in more than 430 films in his 38-year career. Career Victor Potel was born in Lafayette, Indiana in 1889, and his ...

as Skinny Flint * David Butler as Ed Kinealy * Yvette Mitchell (uncredited) * Janet Sully (uncredited)

References

External links

* 1919 films 1919 drama films Silent American drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films directed by Tod Browning Universal Pictures films Lost American films Films based on works by Fannie Hurst 1919 lost films Lost drama films 1910s American films {{1910s-drama-film-stub