A silent film where gender is a con and revenge is an inheritance.
In the Latin Quarter of Paris, American artist David Lane (Norman Kerry) marries his model Yvonne (Olive Thomas), but just prior to the birth of their baby, David's mother dies, and he is forced to depart for the United States. In David's absence, his father hires a lawyer to convince Yvonne that David has abandoned her, and grief-stricken, she dies soon after her little girl is born. Yvonne's trusted friend Pierre rears the girl as a boy, whom he calls Toton, and trains her to become a skilled pickpocket. Meanwhile, David adopts a boy named Carew, and when he grows to manhood, the two move to Paris to establish an art studio. In robbing the studio, Pierre recognizes David, and to avenge Yvonne's death, he claims that Toton has been taught to hate her father. Later, Pierre becomes convinced of David's innocence, and before he dies, he reveals the truth to Toton. Finally, the girl is reunited with her father and marries Carew.
Direction
Borzage finds beauty in Montmartre squalor before his famous romanticism.
Costume
Olive Thomas's boy-drag transformation is surprisingly convincing.
Acting
Thomas carries dual mother/daughter tragedy with silent-era expressiveness.
Director
Frank Borzage
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was Olive Thomas's final film—she died tragically weeks after filming, making Toton her ghost on screen.
The 'girl raised as boy' trope here echoes 19th-century French novels but adds American moral panic about Parisian corruption.
US
