The Blot (Silent)

A silent movie which tells the story of a downtrodden teacher whose daughter is admired by a wealthy student. Although fond of the student, the young girl maintains her distance fearing her different status. When she is taken ill, the family's financial predicament causes the professor's wife to steal a chicken to help remedy the situation.

In a time when women played a central role in the early American cinema, Lois Weber was the outstanding female director of her time. Of her more than 100 critically acclaimed films, The Blot remains the most popular and introduced two exciting discoveries, Claire Windsor and Louis Calhern, who rose to stardom and were popular for years to come. Scholarly and unpaid Professor Griggs and his family live in genteel poverty in a small college town; to help out, beautiful young Amelia works in the public library. Next door are the Olsens, a large and lively immigrant family living it up thanks to newly found fortune. Amelia attracts the attentions of her father's laziest and naughtiest student, but his rival for her affections is the gentle and sincere local minister. When Amelia falls ill from overwork, her mother tries to nurse her back to health and contemplates stealing a chicken from her neighbor's kitchen, with unexpected results.

Silent | Vintage

Genre:

• Silent Film