Human Desire (Silent) (DVD)

Sister Bernice lives in a convent in Italy, unaware of her great beauty. She secretly yearns to be a mother. Learning that America has a surplus of orphans, she boards the next tramp steamer headed to the states, disguised as a boy. After the ship sinks in a storm, Bernice is rescued by artist Robert Bruce, who brings her back to his loft in New York. When she undresses, the painter is shocked not only by her true identity, but by her stunning good looks. Infatuated, he makes Bernice his new muse. The former nun falls in love with Robert as well, and hopes that a union between the two will bring her the child she wants so badly. But unbeknownst to the naive girl, Robert is married. When his wife returns from abroad, the artist must decide between his sophisticated big city spouse and the innocent young woman he has come to love...

Though unjustly overlooked today, Human Desire star Anita Stewart was one of the most popular actresses of the silent era. Her brother-in-law Ralph Ince brought her to Vitagraph Studios in 1912, where The Wood Nymph served as the perfect unveiling of her trim good looks. By 1915, Ince was directing her in the big-budget The Goddess, with the studio billing her as "a modern Joan of Arc." Such success led to a studio of her own under the auspices of Louis B. Mayer in 1918, and hits like The Great White Way (1924), Never the Twain Shall Meet (1925), and The Prince of Pilsen (1926). By the time she retired in 1928 with the coming of sound, she was one of the richest women in Hollywood.

• silent