''Stella Maris'' is a 1918 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 ...

directed by Marshall Neilan, written by

Frances Marion Frances Marion (born Marion Benson Owens, November 18, 1888 – May 12, 1973) was an American screenwriter, director, journalist and author often cited as one of the most renowned female screenwriters of the 20th century alongside June Mathis a ...

and based on William John Locke's 1913 novel of the same name. The film stars

Mary Pickford Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress and producer with a career that spanned five decades. A pioneer in the US film industry, she co-founde ...

in dual roles as the title character and an orphan servant. The film was remade in 1925, with

Mary Philbin Mary Loretta Philbin (July 16, 1902 – May 7, 1993) was an American film actress of the silent film era, who is best known for playing the roles of Christine Daaé in the 1925 film ''The Phantom of the Opera '' opposite Lon Chaney, and as Dea in ...

in the title role.

Plot

Stella Maris (

) was born paralyzed and is unable to walk. Her wealthy guardians try to prevent her from being exposed to all the bad that is happening in the world. She is not allowed to leave her room in a London mansion and is bound to her bed. Her door even has a sign on it which says: "All unhappiness and world wisdom leave outside. Those without smiles need not enter." Stella has no idea a war is going on in the world and that there are poor and hungry people. John Risca (

Conway Tearle Conway Tearle (born Frederick Conway Levy, May 17, 1878 – October 1, 1938) was an American stage actor who went on to perform in silent and early sound films. Early life Tearle was born on May 17, 1878, in New York City, the son of the ...

) is a well-known journalist and a friend of the family. He has been unhappily married to Louise for six years now and frequently visits Stella. John wants Stella to think he is perfect and lies about being unmarried. Louise, meanwhile, wants a servant in her house and hires orphan Unity Blake (also Mary Pickford). Unity is uneducated and has been deprived and mistreated for her entire life. This resulted in her being afraid of everyone. One night, a drunk Louise orders Unity to get some groceries. Unity does what she is told and on her way back, the food is stolen by kids. She returns to the home only to be beaten by an outraged Louise. Unity is severely hurt and Louise gets arrested. It is announced she will have to serve three years in prison. John is kinder to Unity and adopts her. Unity is very grateful and falls in love with him. John himself is only interested in Stella. John wishes Unity to be raised at the Blount's residence, but they don't want her. They prevent her from meeting Stella, fearing Stella will notice there are suffering people in the world. They finally convince John to raise Unity at Aunt Gladys' house. In order to make John fall in love with her, Unity starts to educate herself with Aunt Gladys' help. For the first time, Unity finally feels like she belongs in a loving home and Aunt Gladys is the closest she has to having a caring mother. Meanwhile, Stella gets an operation and is able to walk after three years. She meets John and they fall in love. One day she decides to give John a surprise visit. Louise, who has just been released from jail, opens the door and tells Stella the truth about her marriage. Stella is heartbroken upon learning that he lied to her about his marriage. Feeling betrayed, she tells John to leave her alone and refuses to talk to her family upon seeing how much sadness and pain are in the world. Meanwhile, Unity uses one of John's suits and pretends he is asking her to marry him. When he comes home heartbroken over losing Stella, she tries to busy herself with work. As she hears Aunt Gladys' concerns about John's inability to be free to love Stella while Louise lives, Unity realizes she and John can never be a couple. At her relatives' home, Stella reconciles with them and comes to the realization that while there will be sadness and pain in the world, there are also joy and happiness that follows it. At Aunt Gladys' home, Unity shoots Louise in her bed. The next day, at Aunt Gladys' home, John receives a suicide note from Unity. Aunt Gladys convinces Stella's wealthy relatives to give John another chance and not think badly about Unity for she helped free him from his abusive wife. John is reunited with Stella and they get married.

Cast

as Miss Stella Maris / Unity Blake *

Ida Waterman Ida Waterman (born Ida Shaw; March 10, 1852 – May 22, 1941) was a stage and screen actress. Waterman was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She appeared some thirty or more Broadway productions between the late 1880s and early 1920s. She play ...

as Lady Eleanor Blount, A.K.A. Aunt Julia *

Herbert Standing Herbert Standing (13 November 1846 – 5 December 1923) was a British stage and screen actor and the patriarch of the Standing family of actors. He was the father of numerous children, many of whom had careers in theatre and cinema. Toward the ...

as Sir Oliver Blount *

as John Risca *

Marcia Manon Marcia Manon (born Marcia Elizabeth Harrison, October 28, 1896 – April 12, 1973) was a film actress active during the silent film era of the 1910s and 1920s. She was a supporting player who worked with stars Mary Pickford, John Barrymore, Ethel ...

as Louise Risca *

Josephine Crowell Josephine Boneparte Crowell (January 11, 1859 – July 27, 1932) was a Canadian film actress of the silent era. She appeared in more than 90 films between 1912 and 1929. Biography Crowell was born in Nova Scotia. Crowell debuted in the ...

as Aunt Gladys Linden * Teddy the Dog as The Mack Sennett Dog (uncredited) * Lou Conley as The Nurse (uncredited) *

Gustav von Seyffertitz Gustav von Seyffertitz (4 August 1862 – 25 December 1943) was a German film actor and director. He settled in the United States. He was born in Haimhausen, Bavaria, and died in Los Angeles, California, aged 81. Biography Gustav von Seyffertit ...

as The Surgeon (uncredited)

Reception

Like many American films of the time, ''Stella Maris'' was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. For example, the Chicago Board of Censors required a cut of the shooting by Unity.

Preservation status

''Stella Maris'' still exists with copies preserved at the Mary Pickford Institute for Film Education and 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 library ...

DVD release

''Stella Maris'' was released on

Region 0 DVD region codes are a digital rights management technique introduced in 1997. It is designed to allow rights holders to control the international distribution of a DVD release, including its content, release date, and price, all according to ...

DVD by Milestone Film & Video on April 18, 2000.2000 Milestone Collection DVD edition
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References

External links

* * {{Marshall Neilan 1918 films 1918 drama films Silent American drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Famous Players-Lasky films Films based on British novels Films directed by Marshall Neilan Films shot in California Murder–suicide in films Films with screenplays by Frances Marion Articles containing video clips 1910s American films