"Vanity Fair" is a historical drama, based on the classic English novel written by William Thackeray, featuring Shirley Mason. Shirley Mason was 15 y.o. and played the role of the young Becky Sharp. Directors obviously took notice of her performance, because in 1917 she appeared in 17 feature films, in many of them playing the star role.
A naive young lady comes to the big city but is unfortunately befriended by a couple who probably are up to no good. However, she is unaware of this and accepts their offer to help. Soon, and completely out of the blue, another crook accosts them--and the two men struggle until one of them is killed.
This western, with its simple story set in a gold mining camp, recycles many of the elements found in David Belasco's influential play, THE GIRL OF THE GOLDEN WEST, produced a decade earlier.
The father of a working class family is having trouble finding a job, because the local textile mill is hiring only inexpensive child labor. Reluctantly, he allows his oldest daughter to work in the mill. Meanwhile, in New York, the wealthy businessman Hanscomb is being urged to speak out against child labor, but he declines to do so. Then, while Mrs. Hanscomb and her daughter are traveling, the young girl accidentally wanders away, gets lost, and is taken in by the working class family. To help them, she takes a job in the mill. While this is taking place, Hanscomb has initiated a search for the daughter even as he goes about building up his financial empire.
