The Girl of Gold (Silent) (DVD)

Helen Merrimore, the daughter of wealthy tycoon Lucius Merrimore, journeys to New York in search of a husband. Using an assumed name to avoid any potential gold diggers, she soon falls for impoverished artist Schuyler Livingstone. Thinking he truly loves her and not her money, Helen is shocked when she discovers that Schuyler is secretly being influenced by her father. Upon learning of the deception, she immediately breaks off their engagement. But the young man really does love the beautiful heiress. When Helen is trapped in a mine cave-in, Schuyler must come to her rescue and prove his worth to the woman he loves.

The Girl of Gold is the last film released by Regal Pictures, an umbrella name used by legendary producer Thomas H. Ince to release lower-budget pictures made at his studio. It was directed by his brother, John Ince, and adapted from the magazine serial written by Cleveland Moffatt and Anna Alice Chaplin that appeared in Snappy Stories from December 1919 to March 1920. Leading lady Florence Vidor got her start in Hollywood due to her husband, director King Vidor. She starred in several of his films, including The Jack-Knife Man (1920) and Dusk to Dawn (1922). She remained a popular actress even after their 1925 divorce, but her first talkie, Chinatown Nights (1929), used faulty early sound equipment and failed at the box office. She retired shortly afterwards.

BONUS:Death's Marathon(1913): Tragedy strikes when two business partners compete over the same woman in this Biograph melodrama directed by D.W. Griffith.

• silent