In the 1860s, Mary Marlowe defies her father's wishes to marry a British lord and runs away with clerk John Carlton as he heads West to make his fortune. Mary and John endure the difficult journey and settle into a small cabin, then face the hostilities of a cattle rustling gang, as well as the tragic loss of their only son. With Mary's help, John defeats the gang, which propels him to political power that, over the years, gradually erodes the once-happy marriage.
Acting
Pickford's final screen performance, all knowing glances.
Direction
Borzage's intimate framing of epic emotional landscapes.
Writing
That tagline payoff — devastating final-reel revelation.
Director
Frank Borzage
Mary Pickford
Mary Marlowe / Mary Carlton
Leslie Howard
John Carlton
C. Aubrey Smith
William Marlowe
Blanche Friderici
Martha Marlowe
Doris Lloyd
Susan Channing
Herbert Evans
Lord Hurley
Ned Sparks
Sunshine
Allan Sears
Jake Houser
Mona Maris
Señora Lolita Martinez
Huntley Gordon
William Carlton
Ethel Clayton
Audrey Carlton
Bessie Barriscale
Susan Carlton
Theodore von Eltz
Robert Carlton
Virginia Grey
Audrey Carlton as a Child (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Pickford, already America's Sweetheart for two decades, retired after this — she was 40 and studios considered that ancient for leading ladies. She produced but never acted again.
The pre-Code frankness about marital disillusionment and sexual compromise would be censored within months; this was among the last films to suggest a wife might strategically overlook infidelity.
US
