The Disciple (1915) DVD-R

Starring William S. Hart, Dorothy Dalton, Thelma Salter, Robert McKim, Charles K. French
Directed by William S. Hart, Clifford Smith

Print: black/white
Runtime: 50 min.
Genre: western
Print Quality: B

A William S. Hart western, The Disciple tells the story of preacher Jim Houston (Hart) who,
while ministering to the Godforsaken frontier town of Barren Gulch, loses his wanton wife
Dorothy Dalton to the local doctor and gambling-hall proprietor (Robert McKim). Forsaking
the ministry after his wife's desertion, Jim escapes to the mountains with their young child
(Thelma Salter). The wife, meanwhile, unknowingly arrives at the mountain lodge to find her
child near death's door. Her lover, the only doctor in the district, is called for, and he
manages to cure the child. The wife now has to make the choice between her lover and
home and hearth. She chooses the latter, and peace and tranquility is restored. One of the
many vamps of the early silent era, brunette Dorothy Dalton's best-known roles were Queen
Anne in The Three Musketeers (1916) and Letty in Moran of the Lady Letty (1929). She
retired after doing a version of the old melodrama Leah Kleschna, re-titled The Moral Sinner.