''The Stronger Mind'' is a 1915 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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Joe De Grasse Joseph Louis De Grasse (May 4, 1873 – May 25, 1940) was a Canadian film director. Born in Bathurst, New Brunswick, he was the elder brother of actor Sam De Grasse. Biography Joseph De Grasse had studied and was a first-class graduate of ac ...

and featuring

Lon Chaney Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor and makeup artist. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often gr ...

, Murdock MacQuarrie and Pauline Bush. Chaney did not routinely work for the United production unit at Universal, and was obviously sent over as a one-time loan-out for this production. It is now considered to be a

lost film A lost film is a feature film, feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. ...

. A still exists showing MacQuarrie and Chaney as the two bank robbers. Like many American films of the time, ''The Stronger Mind'' was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. For example, the Chicago Board of Censors in 1918 required cuts in Reel 1 of the burglar sandpapering his pal's fingers and of the burglars working on the safe.

Plot

A Crook and his Pal are interrupted while trying to rob a bank and are forced to split up. Fearing capture, the Crook leaves town and hides out in a Western mining town. There he meets the Girl, who folks call the "Good Angel" because he devotes her life looking after the needs of others. The Crook disguises himself as a minister and, under the good influence of the Girl, decides to reform himself. The Crook informs his Pal (Lon Chaney) of his decision to go straight, but the Pal comes into town and persuades his friend to rob the local bank (thus the title of the film referring to the Chaney character). Coincidentally, the Girl's father is employed at the bank as a night watchman. In the attempted robbery, the Crook's Pal is killed, and the Crook is redeemed by the Girl's love and decides to go straight.

Cast

Murdock MacQuarrie Murdock MacQuarrie (August 25, 1878 – August 20, 1942) was an American silent film actor and director. His name was also seen as Murdock McQuarrie. MacQuarrie was born in San Francisco, California, and attended school there. He was the br ...

as A Crook * Pauline Bush as The Girl *

as The Crook's Pal

Reception

"This is an engaging drama, produced well with several new twists to the old story. The scenes are characteristic in every instance, some of the Western exteriors are especially beautiful...Lon Chaney is effective as the master criminal." ---Motion Picture News "A two-reel production which in its finished condition....promises to be unusually interesting. Pauline Bush plays the feminine lead, and as the woman whose courage and strength of purpose never failed her, she is beyond criticism. The story is of a man who was influenced by a bad companion to become a thief. He runs away eventually, and lands out west, where he tries to correct his methods of living. His former pal follows him, and the battle as to what the final result will be is won by the woman, whose mind is the stronger one." --- Moving Picture WorldBlake, Michael F. (1998). "The Films of Lon Chaney". Vestal Press Inc. Page 45. .

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stronger Mind, The 1915 films 1915 drama films 1915 short films Silent American drama short films American black-and-white films Censored films Lost American drama films Films directed by Joseph De Grasse Universal Pictures short films 1915 lost films 1910s American films 1910s English-language films English-language drama short films