A silent film where a dress auction decides a woman's fate—and her heart.
Zabette de Chauvalons leaves a convent in Brussels to join her father on the island of Martinique, escorted by Père Bénédict. In St. Pierre she finds that her father has died; his widow, who rules the island's French society, believes Zabette to be the child of a beautiful quadroon with whom Zabette's father left for France; when Zabette is sent to the mulatto quarter, Stéphane Séquineau is present and takes an interest in her. Destitute, Zabette is forced to auction off her Paris fashions, and though Quembo, a cunning quadroon, is the highest bidder, Stéphane outbids him at the last minute and professes his love, which she accepts, believing herself to be une fille de couleur; however, his older brother, Maurice, insinuating that a mixed marriage would ruin him, persuades her to desist.
Acting
Bebe Daniels' expressive face carries the entire narrative.
Costume
Parisian fashions become plot-critical status symbols.
Director
William K. Howard
Bebe Daniels
Zabette de Chavalons
Ricardo Cortez
Stéphane Séquineau
Wallace Beery
Quembo
Dale Fuller
Cédrien
Arthur Edmund Carewe
Maurice Séquineau
Eulalie Jensen
Madame de Chauvalons
Brandon Hurst
André de Chauvalons
Marjorie Whiteis
Marie de Chauvalons
Snitz Edwards
Auctioneer
Emily Barrye
Azaline
Edith Yorke
Mother Superior
Mathilde Comont
Madame Timbuctoo
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was one of Bebe Daniels' final silents before talkies made her a musical star.
Shot just two decades after the real 1902 Mount Pelée eruption destroyed St. Pierre, though the volcano here is metaphorical.
US
