Volume II: Filmography

THE PRICE OF HER SILENCE

September 30, 1915 (Thursday)

Length: 4 reels

Character: Drama; Mutual Masterpicture No. 40

Director: W. Eugene Moore, Jr.

Scenario: Gertrude Thanhouser and Lloyd F. Lonergan

Cast: Florence LaBadie (the elder sister), Mignon Anderson (the younger sister), Arthur Bauer (their father), Harris Gordon (the chauffeur), Thomas A. Curran (the artist), Helen Badgley (the golden-haired little girl), Leo Post and Otto Finn (doubles for other actors)

Cameramen: Carl Louis Gregory, William Zollinger, A.H. Moses, Jr., Lawrence Williams

Note: The surname of Harris Gordon appeared as "Goodwin" in Reel Life, September 18, 1915.

ARTICLE, The New Rochelle Paragraph, June 4, 1915:

"An automobile was sent off the city dock into the harbor, Wednesday morning at 4 o'clock, by the Thanhouser Film Corporation, in order to get a hairbreadth scene for a four-reel picture. In the machine at the time it went over were Leo Post and Otto Finn, the two daredevils of the studio. The machine landed flat in the water. Both the occupants jumped as soon as the auto left the dock and made land safely. Because of the cost of the scene, four cameramen were on the job clicking away. They were: Henry J. Zollinger [sic; this is a composite of the names of Henry Cronjager and William Zollinger; probably Zollinger was intended], Albert Moses, Carl Gregory and Lawrence Williams. The auto was a White make, and was taken from the water and put on a raft. The wind, however, swept the car from the resting place into the water. It is now lying at the bottom of the harbor near the city dock."

ARTICLES, Mutual Masterpicture News Bulletin, undated (1915). The following is a composite of paragraphs taken from articles in the same issue:

"A weak-willed, flighty girl, who falls in love and then elopes with the family chauffeur; and her sister, a self-willed, strong-minded young woman, who assumes the stigma in following her sister's false step, are the principal characters in The Price of Her Silence, a four part romantic drama, released as a Mutual Masterpicture. Those charming, talented young stars of the Thanhouser studios, Florence LaBadie and Mignon Anderson, who are recognized as two of the most popular young women in motion picture work, are the co-stars of The Price of Her Silence. Miss LaBadie portraying the strong-willed girl and Miss Anderson, her weaker sister.

"Miss LaBadie, well remembered for her work in God's Witness, The Patriot and the Spy, and Monsieur Lecoq, preceding Mutual Masterpictures screened at the Thanhouser studios, rises to one of her greatest triumphs as the heroine in The Price of Her Silence, the role furnishing her with an exceptional opportunity of bringing into play the many dramatic and emotional talents with which she has been gifted.

"Miss Anderson, too, it may be said, scores one of her greatest successes in this exceptionally powerful romantic drama, some critics even aver that her portrayal of the weak sister in The Price of Her Silence, overshadows that she furnished in Milestones of Life, a Mutual Masterpicture released some weeks ago.

"An unusually powerful cast of Thanhouser players, including Arthur Bauer, as the father; Harris Gordon, as the chauffeur; and Thomas Curran, as the artist, appear in their support. The Price of Her Silence, as with the preceding Masterpictures screened at the Thanhouser studios, has been screened on a princely scale. One scene, depicting a wreck of a ship at sea, is the most realistic of its kind presented. The Price of Her Silence concerns a wealthy widower with two beautiful daughters, whose ages are separated by only a few years. One of them, the younger, the pampered pet of the father, falls in love with the family chauffeur. To break the infatuation the father sends her to Europe to study. But the girl, loving the chauffeur, acquaints him of the fact, with the result that he books passage on the same ship.

"Far out at sea, the ship is wrecked during a storm. The girl, the chauffeur and the captain manage to get away on a raft, the only ones of the number on board to be saved. A few minutes before the captain is washed from the raft, he marries the young girl and the chauffeur. The following day the raft with the half-famished young couple is washed ashore on a desert island. That night the husband is attacked and killed by a wild animal and the young widow is later taken on board a sailing vessel, and after a venturesome journey returned to her father, who believed her dead. Later she finds it necessary to confide her secret to someone. She confesses all to her elder sister, who induces her father to let them visit a country town where they remain until the baby is born. Later, after placing the baby to board with a farmer's wife, they return home. Some few years later, the young sister is about to be wedded to a prominent young man, when her daughter, a handsome, golden-haired little child, unexpectedly arrives in care of the farmer, who announces that he refuses to permit the child to remain in his wife's care until he learns the identity of the father. Allowed to speak, the elder sister took the blame, whereupon she and her little niece were turned adrift.

"Fearful at losing her husband's love, the younger sister maintained silence while the elder one eked out living for herself and child in a nearby city. A young painter of considerable prominence occupied the adjoining studio and within a short time they fell in love with each other. Because of her clouded name, she refuses to marry him and wrote her sister begging her to confess all. One day, as a surprise, a picture painted by the young artist for the child's mother was on exhibition at the studio. She called with her husband to view it. Suddenly the door opened and a little girl appeared in pursuit of her kitten. Reaching a window ledge she lost her balance and fell. The mother, in her anguish, ran to the yard, picked up the injured child and, returning to the studio, confessed all. All was quickly forgiven by the husband, when the wife explained the child's parentage. The father, too, forgave and later the strong hearted elder sister married the young artist and all returned to live at the wealthy father's estate....

"Mignon Anderson, who shares honors with Florence LaBadie in The Price of Her Silence, a four part Mutual Masterpicture screened at the Thanhouser studios, is Mrs. Morris Foster in private life. Her husband is one of the popular young leads of the Thanhouser studios. They frequently play together in pictures.... Florence LaBadie, who is starring with Mignon Anderson in The Price of Her Silence, a four-part Mutual Masterpicture screened at the Thanhouser studios in New Rochelle, is an exceptionally popular young woman. She undoubtedly boasts of a larger following than any other player in picture work. This is best attested by the great number of letters she receives daily from admiring fans in all sections of the two hemispheres. A large number of the communications are from young girls and young women, who are desirous of entering motion picture work. And, to be honest, a number of letters are forwarded her by would-be screen stars of the opposite sex. Of recent months, the demands on Miss LaBadie have become so large that she has had written and printed a circular letter, reciting her own experiences, the best methods for winning success and so on. One of these letters is forwarded to each of the writers with Miss LaBadie's best wishes for their success....

"One of the most vividly realistic shipwrecks ever screened is shown in one of the scenes of The Price of Her Silence, a four part Mutual Masterpicture, screened at the Thanhouser studios.

"Florence LaBadie, co-star with Mignon Anderson in The Price of Her Silence, a four part Mutual Masterpicture, is one of the most conscientious young screen players in the profession. Before stepping before the camera, Miss LaBadie goes through what she terms a 'final' rehearsal, to be certain that she will be able to register the expression as she wishes it to be done."

SYNOPSIS, Reel Life, September 18, 1915:

"'We do not care what all the fathers in the world will do when we are safely married, do we dear?'

"In spite of her bravado, the attractive little girl trembled just a trifle as she looked up into the eyes of her handsome lover. In her hand she held a wireless message from her father, which told her tersely that if she married 'that fellow' she would be disinherited. To be disinherited meant to be cut out entirely from the millions which she should someday share with her older sister, and 'that man' was only her father's discharged chauffeur! The girl was on her way to a cloistered school in France, where her father purposed to keep her silly young head so filled with her books that she would forget her plebeian lover. But the wily little girl had secretly informed the chauffeur that she was sailing, and the boat was well out at sea before the father learned that he had been outwitted. The following night the echo of 'fire' resounded through the ship. The passengers ran to the life boats, but the blazing liner went down into the blackness of the sea with most of the passengers still on board. In the captain's small uncollapsible boat, the millionaire's daughter and the ex-chauffeur were among the pitiful handful who escaped.

"One by one the members of the party succumbed, until there was left only the captain and the hardy young couple. Before the captain, too, gave up his life to the deep, the girl remembered that there was a provision of law which authorizes the commander of a vessel to perform marriages at sea. So the weakened man joined the hands of the two young people and pronounced them married. The little boat drifted to a desert island, where the happy young lovers spent their honeymoon. One day, the husband was attacked and killed by a giant ophimorphous. Some weeks later the widow was discovered by the crew of a sailing vessel, which had put into the island for water. She was taken home. Frightened, the unhappy girl was afraid to tell her father the truth. She swore that she had been entirely alone on the island.

"Back again in the safety of her home, the little sister found herself turning to her elder sister for aid and comfort - just as it had been when she was a little child and had passed through fancied grievances. So she told her sister the true story of her marriage, and swore her to secrecy. In order to keep the truth from their father, the elder sister told him that the younger girl's nervous condition was so serious that she must have rest, and advised a holiday in a little fishing village. In the little town the younger girl's child was born. A woman in the village was prevailed upon to undertake the care of the baby for a fixed sum. Then the two girls returned to the city.

"Five years later, the younger sister was to be married. The wedding day had arrived. The bride was all arrayed in her wedding gown, and she and her sister awaited the strains of the bridal march, when a farmer deposited a little girl at the door with the remarks (which the bride's father overhead) that 'Old Martha was dead.' Suspicious, the father took the child to the bride's chamber to demand an explanation. At the threshold, the child burst into joy at seeing the elder sister. 'The nice lady who brings me presents,' she cried. The father believed that the elder daughter was guilty. She was about to disclaim any responsibility, when she caught sight of the younger sister's face. 'Please let him think so until after the marriage, then I will tell the truth,' the younger sister hurriedly whispered.

"The elder sister took her niece to a nearby city, where she put her talent for sculpture into practical use. Soon a rising young painter fell in love with her. She returned his affection but would not marry him because of the taint on her honor. As a gift to his wife, the younger sister's husband planned to have her portrait painted by the young artist. At the first sitting, the woman's own little girl rushed in in hot pursuit of a runaway kitten. The mother recognized her and fell back with a stifled cry - and when their backs were turned, the child climbed to the window ledge for the kitten, lost her balance and fell. 'It is God's judgment,' she cried. 'My child! My child!' Then the mother told for the first time the true story. In a moment, the painter came back bringing a perfectly whole and safe, but very frightened child. The elder sister was called to the studio. She knew that at last the shadow had been lifted from her heart."

REVIEW, Variety, October 15, 1915:

"The Price of Her Silence, a four-part Mutual Masterpicture (Thanhouser) features Florence LaBadie and Mignon Anderson, with the latter lady having the fatter role of the two. The picture was produced in the New Rochelle studios and the ocean scenes were evidently made on Long Island Sound. The four-reeler is a pleasing enough feature without any great thrills, although there was an opportunity for a big scene in the burning of a yacht at sea. The one genuine punch is in the fall of a child from a fourth story window.

"The story tells of a love affair the younger daughter of the family had with the chauffeur. To break up the match the father sends the girl to Europe on the uncle's yacht. The man is also aboard as a sailor. The yacht burns and the girl, her lover and the captain escape in a small boat. They drift for days and all three are about dead when the captain marries them. He dies and the two are thrown on a desert island. Later the husband is drowned by an octopus, the girl rescued by a sailing vessel and returned to her home. She keeps her marriage and widowhood a secret until there is danger of exposure and then confesses to her older sister, who has been her inseparable companion since babyhood. The two go away; a child is born and left in the care of another woman. Five years elapse; the younger sister is about to be married again. On the night of the wedding the child is brought to the door and left with a note addressed to one of the sisters. The father takes the child to the room where the two girls are. When it recognizes the older sister he immediately believes her to be the mother of the little one and turns her out. The younger sister says she will confess immediately after the ceremony, but loses her nerve. In the meantime the older girl takes a studio, falls in love with a fellow tenant, but refuses to marry him because of the child. She writes to the sister, asking to be released from her promise of secrecy, but the latter begs for more time. The husband of the younger sister arranged for her to have a portrait painted and selects the artist that lives across the hall from the sister. At the first sitting, the child playing in this sister's room chases a kitten into the room, where its mother is posing, and falls from the window. The mother with a shriek rushes to the window and when the child is brought back she admits that it is hers. The confession is followed by absolution on the part of the husband and the girl's father and the sister consents to marry the artists, the father giving them his blessing. The picture will hold the interest of women especially. - Fred"

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