The day after his Gettysburg Address, President Abraham Lincoln meets a wounded Confederate soldier in a hospital. The blinded rebel, not knowing his visitor's identity, regales him with memorized lines from the speech.
This first cinematic version of the classic book is a part-talkie, although the only surviving print is silent (housed in the George Eastman House, Rochester, NY). It is a straight-forward telling of the intermingled lives of a group of strangers doomed to die in a collapsing bridge accident. The Art Direction, paltry and unremarkable, surprisingly won an Oscar over the far more remarkable work nominated in THE IRON MASK. The special effect scene of the lovers plummeting with the bridge into the chasm is unforgettable and remarkably done.
Baron Reiner, a charming though unscrupulous Viennese aristocrat, becomes infatuated with Virginia, an innocent schoolgirl who is engaged to his best friend, Manfred. In order to seduce the girl, Reiner finances an oceanographic expedition for Manfred that takes him away for months (TCM).
After his beloved daughter leaves for the city to pay off his debt, an old farmer goes mad when her letters become less frequent and it is suspected she may be using her body to get the money.
John Loder looks exactly like his cousin, John Chilcote, who is a member of Parliament. Because of his dissolute ways, Chilcote collapses, and Loder is called in to take his place so that the family honor can remain unsullied. Loder's masquerade is so successful that no one suspects him of being an impostor, not even Chilcote's estranged wife, Eve. Loder distinguishes himself with his actions, both in public and private, while the real Chilcote sinks further into the gutter until he finally dies. Loder decides to remain as John Chilcote, and marries Eve, who, up until Loder reveals his true identity, has believed she was falling in love with her husband all over again.
