The Rainbow Princess

Hope has an act in a traveling circus where she is "the rainbow princess" and performs a Hula dance. The owner of the circus pawns the girl off on Judge Daingerfield as his long-lost granddaughter. Hope goes to live with the judge, and to the horror of his upstanding family, insists on having the circus performers over as her guests. But the whole ruse, unbeknownst to her, is so that the circus owner's sons can rob the judge.

Directed by J. Searle Dawley, The Rainbow Princess leans on a strong ensemble — Ann Pennington, William Courtleigh Jr., Augusta Anderson — 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 1916.