Sold for Marriage (1916) DVD-R

Starring Lillian Gish, Frank Bennett, Walter Long, Allan Sears, Pearl Elmore
Directed by Christy Cabanne

Print: black/white
Runtime: 50 min.
Genre: drama

Marfa (Lillian Gish), a Russian peasant girl, is in love with Jan (Frank Bennett). However, her uncle and aunt (A.D. Sears and Pearl Elmore) want her to marry an older, wealthy man. Colonel Griegoff (Walter Long) wants her, but Marfa will have nothing to do with him. When he tries to have his way with her, she knocks him out with a club and runs off. Along with her uncle and aunt, she emigrates to America. Jan, who wants to make his fortune, is on the same ship. They all settle in the Russian district of Los Angeles. Once again, Marfa's pushy relatives try to force her into an arranged marriage, but they are foiled by Jan and the police. A quick glance at this plot shows why Lillian Gish preferred to downplay many of the films she made with directors other than D.W. Griffith.