The Splendid Sin

Although they have a happy marriage, Sir Charles Chatham, an explorer, and his American wife, Lady Marion, have been unable to have children. After Charles goes to Egypt, his sister Gertrude and her sweetheart Stephen Hartley, an American consulate attaché, take refuge from a storm in a deserted tower. Frightened, Gertrude yields to Stephen's advances. Although he intends to marry Gertrude, Stephen suddenly is called to deliver supplies to starving women and children in Russia. Marion takes the pregnant Gertrude away to have her child, and notifies Stephen, who, because he is shot during Bolshevik rioting, returns too late to marry Gertrude, who dies after childbirth. To honor Gertrude's dying request, and to provide Charles with a much desired child, Marion telegraphs Charles that the baby is theirs.

Directed by Howard M. Mitchell, The Splendid Sin leans on a strong ensemble — Madlaine Traverse, Charles Clary, Jean Calhoun — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about drama titles of 1919.