Heart's Haven (1922) DVD-R

Starring Robert McKim, Claire Adams, Carl Gantvoort, Claire McDowell, Betty Brice
Directed by Benjamin B. Hampton

Print: Black and White
Runtime: 62 min.
Genre: Drama

After the success of the 1919 picture The Miracle Man, producers made quite a number of films about faith-healers in hopes of duplicating its box office returns. This one is no classic -- considering the weak plot, it's a surprise that it came off so well. Joe Laird (Carl Gantvoort) is a hardworking young businessman who works his way up in the company, eventually becoming the private secretary of boss Adam Breed (Robert McKim). But life at home isn't so sweet -- he has a cynical, ungrateful wife, Gladys (Betty Brice), who is less than thrilled when Laird's mother, May Caroline (Claire McDowell), moves in. Gladys laughs at May's claim that she is a faith healer, but then she cures grandson, Bobbie (Frankie Lee), who is crippled. And when the boss's daughter Vivian (Claire Adams) injures her back while trying to rescue Ella, the Lairds' little girl (Mary Jane Irving), from a tree, May gets down to praying once again and heals her. None of this has any effect on Gladys, who runs off with a lover, leaving a note that says, "If my going wounds you, get your mother to heal it." In a way, that's just what happens because after Vivian's recovery, she and Laird fall in love. Gladys is killed, which conveniently gets her out of the way so that the couple can marry. This picture was based on the story by Clara Louise Burnham; the directing credit went to Benjamin B. Hampton "and associates."