Enlighten Thy Daughter
4 /10 1 Votes
Duration | Director Ivan Abramson Genre Silent film Country United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Language Silent film
English intertitles Writer Ivan Abramson (story) Release date 1917 (1917) Cast James W. Morrison, Rubye De Remer, Marie Shotwell, Frank Sheridan, Zena Keefe, Arthur Donaldson People also search for Married in Name Only, Wildness of Youth |
Enlighten Thy Daughter is a 1917 American silent film directed by Ivan Abramson.
Contents
Plot
The exploitation film/sexual hygiene film warns against the dangers of premarital sex. Lillian Stevens (played by Zena Keefe) is young woman who ends up having sex with Harold Winthrop (played by James W. Morrison) after both are caught in an unexpected storm during a date. Of course, she gets pregnant. Mom does not realize Lillian has been out all night due to her own gambling addiction. The same young man later starts dating Lillian's cousin Ruth (played by Rubye De Remer). They get engaged, but Lillian's pregnancy—and the identity of the father—is revealed when she dies from an illegal abortion, and Ruth breaks off the engagement.
Reception
The New York Times was critical of the film, calling it an "inept and melodramatic variant of the theme of the danger that lurks in the failure to apprise the young of dangers by which they are beset." Other reviews were not as unkind, however, calling it a "remarkable drama, tense and thrilling," and agreeing with the movie's advertising claim to be "the most tremendous moral force the screen has ever known."
The movie did meet with box office success, and has been described as director Abramson's biggest success.
A remake was released in 1934 (the only Abramson film ever remade).
References
Enlighten Thy Daughter WikipediaEnlighten Thy Daughter IMDb