The story
“Many lives have been saved as well as wrecked by the magic whispering of some word vital to those concerned. Sometimes the word has been an evil one. Other times it has been a word to bring joy and new ambition to the hearer. Such a message was whispered into the ear of John Golden (Wayne Arey), in the Thanhouser-Mutual two-part drama, The Whispered Word, starring Grace DeCarlton.
“This remarkable psychological photoplay is one of the most powerful stories of a weak man’s regeneration ever adapted for a film production. It treats of a vital phase of our everyday life and solves a problem which confronts hundreds of persons in all parts of the world. Anna (Grace DeCarlton), against the wishes of her friends and father, marries John Golden, who was deemed unworthy of her. The first few months of her married life convinced her that she had probably erred when she followed the dictates of her heart. John, addicted to liquor, dragged her down to the depths of poverty, forcing her to live in the squalor of the congested tenement district. One day she whispered to him a single word. From then on he took a firm foothold on himself and for the first time in many months the young wife recognized the husband of her ideals.
“Where he had been a loafer and a social outcast he became a diligent worker and looked forward to the day when he could resume his old place among the better people of the community. He saves his father-in-law from the hands of a mob. When the old man learns that his worthless son-in-law has at last decided to make a man out of himself and when he hears he is soon to be a grandfather, he relents and harmony and happiness reigns in the Golden household in anticipation of the coming heir. Wayne Arey as the dissolute husband who is reformed by his wife’s love and loyalty, gives a splendid exhibition of emotional screen acting. Cast for a difficult role, his portrayal stands as an artistic achievement and stamps him as a screen actor of exceptional and unusual versatility. He is ably supported by Grace DeCarlton as the loving wife who sticks to her husband through hardships until she finally makes a man of him.”
Summary from Reel Life · 11 March 1916
