''The Sins of Rosanne'' is a surviving 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- ...

starring

Ethel Clayton Ethel Clayton (November 8, 1882 – June 6, 1966) was an American actress of the silent film era. Early years Born in Champaign, Illinois, Clayton attended St. Elizabeth's school in Chicago. Career Clayton debuted on stage as a professional ...

and directed by actor/director Tom Forman. The

Famous Players-Lasky Famous Players-Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company formed on June 28, 1916, from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company—originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays—and ...

studio produced the film with release by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

. The film 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 libra ...

, but is incomplete and missing reels 1 and 3.

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 ...

, when physicians despair of the life of little Rosanne Ozanne, infant daughter of the Kimberly widow Mrs. Ozanne (Van Buren), Rachel Bangat (La Rue), a Malay servant credited with mystic powers, offers to save the child's life on the condition that the child is sold to her for two years for a

farthing Farthing or farthings may refer to: Coinage *Farthing (British coin), an old British coin valued one quarter of a penny ** Half farthing (British coin) ** Third farthing (British coin) ** Quarter farthing (British coin) *Farthing (English co ...

. The distracted mother, living in the Kimberly mining country of South Africa, agrees. At the end of the two years the child is returned with the information that two gifts have been given her by the Malay servant, one a passion for bright stones, especially diamonds, and the other the art of hating intensely. Grown to young womanhood, Rosanne (Clayton), without understanding why she does it, barters her integrity for diamonds and becomes the tool of smugglers and the rascal diamond merchant Syke Ravenal (Malatesta), who is also madly in love with her. Made frantic by the knowledge of her wrongdoing, she refuses to unburden her soul to her fiancé Sir Dennis Harlenden (Holt) until after the arrest of the smugglers and the murder of Ravenal by native enemies. Faith in love at last neutralizes the power of the Malay woman's curse and the death of Rachel removes it from her life forever. She becomes the happy bride of Sir Dennis and sails with him to a home in England.

Cast

as Rosanne Ozanne * Jack Holt as Sir Dennis Harlenden *

Fontaine La Rue Matilda Fernández, stage name Fontaine La Rue (July 18, 1890 in Hermosillo, Mexico – September 13, 1964) was an American silent film actress appearing in films from 1918 to 1929. Her career ended with the advent of talkies. She was one of s ...

as Rachel Bangat *

Mabel Van Buren Mabel Van Buren (born Mabel Brown Southard; July 17, 1878 – November 4, 1947) was an American stage and screen actress. Biography As a theatrical performer she played the leading lady in both ''The Virginian'' and ''The Squaw Man'' (190 ...

as Mrs. Ozanne * Fred Malatesta as Syke Ravenal *Grace Morse as Kitty Drummond *Dorothy Messenger as Precious Drummond *James Smith as Hlangeli *

Guy Oliver George Guy Oliver (September 25, 1878 – September 1, 1932) was an American actor. He appeared in at least 189 silent film era motion pictures and 32 talkies in character roles between 1911 and 1931. His obituary gives him credit for at l ...

as Hlangeli's Father *

Clarence Geldart Clarence Geldart (June 9, 1867 – May 13, 1935) was an American film actor. He appeared in 127 films between 1915 and 1936. He was sometimes credited as C.H. Geldart or Charles H. Geldart. He was born in New Brunswick, Canada, and died i ...

as Leonard (uncredited)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sins of Rosanne, The 1920 films American silent feature films Films based on short fiction Paramount Pictures films 1920 drama films Silent American drama films American black-and-white films Films set in South Africa 1920s American films