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MARY MILES MINTER with her con¬ vincing childishness of personality, ac¬ complishes in Bessie Boniel’s interesting play “The Innocence of Lizette” that which for an actress of lesser charm and inferior talent, might easily be impos¬ sible. This is the latest of the Minter productions, made under the direction of James Kirkwood at the American Film Company’s studios.
Little Miss Minter is Lizette, the daughter of Ashby Keene, a once famous actor, who dies leaving her in early girlhood to the care of Granny Page, his landlady, who promises him on his deathbed that she will watch over the little girl while she lives.
Granny Page is of small means. She has a nephew, Paul, who is the owner of a news stand in an office building. In the course of time Lizette acquires the habit of visiting Paul at his news stand and assisting him there in selling papers.
There she attracts the attention of Dan Nye, a supposedly wealthy man about town, who is actually a blackmailer and rounder. Lizette’s attention is attracted by the external fascinations of Nye, who does his best to cultivate her liking for him.
Another customer of the news stand is Henri Faure, a man of social position and great wealth who is also a wid¬ ower. He is so impressed with Lizette’s innocence that he adopts her, much to the sorrow of Granny Page, who has become deeply attached to the little girl.
Little Lizette is a lover of dolls. She has dolls of all sorts and sizes. Faure, her new guardian, indulges this passion, recognizing in it the maternal instinct. When Faure is compelled to leave the city on a business tour, Lizette goes temporarily to Granny Page. On her return to the Faure home, Mary finds a baby on the door step. She at once decides to keep the infant, and enters the home of her guardian with the child in her arms. She insists that it is her own, fearing it may be taken from her, and of course Faure and his housekeeper are horror stricken.
Lizette has no idea of the physiological conditions in¬ volved with her declaration of ownership. She has a vague idea that the baby ought to have a father somewhere, but does not understand that her good name is in any way in¬ volved.
Besought by Faure and the housekeeper to tell who is the father of her baby, Lizette tells them the first name that comes into her head — that of Dan Nye. Faure sends for Nye and accuses him, whereupon the wily blackmailer scents an opportunity for profit and admits fatherhood. Faure demands that he marry Lizette which he agrees to do on the payment of a large sum of money.
While negotiations are in progress, Lizette keeping her secret meanwhile, the mother of the child, filled with re¬ morse, comes to claim it. Lizette insists that the baby s
Lizette . . . Mary Miles Minter
Faure . Harvey Clarke
Granny Page . Eugenie Forde
hers and is only prevailed on to give it up after irrefut¬ able evidence of the mother’s identity has been given. The complacent Mr. Nye is sent on his way, a sadder, wiser man, while Lizette explains that all she wanted was to have the baby for her own.
This extraordinary plot carries with it possibilities of misconstruction and mishandling that are sufficiently ap¬ parent, but as the story is told it is a pretty child romance of the sort that best displays Mary Miles Minter’s extra¬ ordinary genius.
REEL LIFE— Page Two