Helen Alving leads an outwardly contented life. On the eve of the 10th anniversary of her husband's death, she is about to open an orphanage as a memorial to him. To mark this occasion, her bohemian painter son Oswald has returned from Paris. Helen plans to take the opportunity to tell Oswald the truth about his father. But ghosts of the past erupt during an eventful evening, bringing the facade of civilised family life crashing down.
Acting
Mary Alden's restrained devastation—eyes doing what dialogue cards cannot.
Production
Ibsen's scandalous play somehow smuggled into 1915 American cinema.
Director
George Nichols
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Ibsen's original play was so scandalous that British theatres refused to stage it for years; this 1915 adaptation arrived when American cinema was still figuring out how to handle 'unpleasant' subjects.
Henry B. Walthall plays both father and son through flashback structure—cinema's doubling technique literalizing the 'ghosts' of inherited sin.
US
