A Mormon Maid

This silent melodrama is set against the 1840s westward migration of the Mormons. Dora, a young woman, and her family are saved from an Indian attack by a Mormon community traveling to Utah. They join the wagon train. Dora is pursued by two men, one a recent convert, the other a scheming elder with a stable of wives. The Mormon elder wants her in his harem. When the mother kills herself from revulsion toward polygamy, the daughter must consider her own future and the man she loves. One of Mae Murray's few surviving films, this was intended by Robert Leonard to be a thoughtful drama about the goods and evils of Mormonism, but today it is generally considered pure anti-Mormon propaganda.

Directed by Robert Z. Leonard, A Mormon Maid leans on a strong ensemble — Mae Murray, Frank Borzage, Hobart Bosworth — 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 history titles of 1917.