I've just finished reading the reviews of this film on IMDb. I think one person realized that Helen Riaume (it was actually Reaume) was actually the real-life wife of the star of the movie, Tyrone Power Sr. Both of their children, Ann Power and the very famous Tyrone Power (1914-1958) are in it as well. Ann probably plays a newborn, and two-year-old Tyrone Power appears at the very end as a "ghost child."
This is certainly a fascinating film. It's thought of as anti-abortion but as others have pointed out, that's just part of the picture. The DA RIchard Walton (Tyrone Power Sr.) is a firm believer in eugenics, which had support in this country before the Aryan race business came out of Nazi Germany. In eugenics, the white upper class had the children and the poor weren't supposed to have them, with the belief that "wanted" children (children of white upper class) would wipe out crime.
The beginning of the story centers around a doctor accused of mailing out contraception material - this is based on the Margaret Sanger case. The DA is a man who has longed to have children, but he and his wife never have. This is because his wife (Riaume) has been having abortions so she can keep up her society engagements. Apparently she's not alone.
Walton learns of this when the abortion doctor bungles a case and is put on trial for murder. It is then that Walton sees his patient book.
During the movie, we see the "unwanted" being returned to heaven - this is 1916, and Lois Weber's use of photography and effects is amazing.
The acting is very good, with Power Sr. a formidable presence and the petite Riaume excellent in the role of a woman with a secret.
This was an extremely controversial film at the time and probably would be today. What a lot of people don't realize is that back when this movie was made, abortion was a form of birth control and, as seen here, practiced by the upper classes.
HIghly recommended - it's a piece of history.
This is certainly a fascinating film. It's thought of as anti-abortion but as others have pointed out, that's just part of the picture. The DA RIchard Walton (Tyrone Power Sr.) is a firm believer in eugenics, which had support in this country before the Aryan race business came out of Nazi Germany. In eugenics, the white upper class had the children and the poor weren't supposed to have them, with the belief that "wanted" children (children of white upper class) would wipe out crime.
The beginning of the story centers around a doctor accused of mailing out contraception material - this is based on the Margaret Sanger case. The DA is a man who has longed to have children, but he and his wife never have. This is because his wife (Riaume) has been having abortions so she can keep up her society engagements. Apparently she's not alone.
Walton learns of this when the abortion doctor bungles a case and is put on trial for murder. It is then that Walton sees his patient book.
During the movie, we see the "unwanted" being returned to heaven - this is 1916, and Lois Weber's use of photography and effects is amazing.
The acting is very good, with Power Sr. a formidable presence and the petite Riaume excellent in the role of a woman with a secret.
This was an extremely controversial film at the time and probably would be today. What a lot of people don't realize is that back when this movie was made, abortion was a form of birth control and, as seen here, practiced by the upper classes.
HIghly recommended - it's a piece of history.