Gretchen the Greenhorn

Gretchen the Greenhorn is an American silent film released in 1916. The film stars Dorothy Gish as a Dutch girl who emigrates to America to be with her father; they become entangled with a counterfeiting ring. Set in an immigrant section of an American city, the film avoids heavy stereotyping, according to the booklet accompanying the DVD release notes.

Contents

• Cast
• Preservation status
• Similar Movies
• Home media
• References

Gretchen Van Houck is just arriving in the USA, on a ship from Holland. She joins her father, who has already spent several years in America, where he owns an engraving business. In the tenement community where the Van Houcks live, there are residents of many nationalities. Gretchen soon becomes close friends with Pietro, a popular resident, and she also takes an interest in the widow Garrity and her children. Another resident, Rogers, is more mysterious. One day Rogers tells Mr. Van Houck that he could help him get a job printing money for the government. Van Houck eagerly agrees to try, but when he finds out what Rogers is really doing, he is placed in a painful dilemma.