Shadows of the Past
Cast & Crew
Ralph Ince
Anita Stewart
Harry T. Morey
Rose Tapley
L. Rogers Lytton
Julia Swayne Gordon
Film Details
Synopsis
Mark Stetson, an unscrupulous politician, snares Brandon, his wife and their friend Antoinette in a smuggling racket and then, to protect himself, engineers their arrest. After their release from jail, the trio vows to make good. Brandon eventually lands a trusted post at an insurance company and Antoinette, who lives with the couple, becomes both secretary and sweetheart to Haddon, a popular gubernatorial candidate. Shortly afterwards, Stetson, an acquaintance of Haddon, sees Antoinette in Haddon's office and follows her to the Brandon home. Stetson, who has been offered ten thousand dollars by Haddon's political rivals to ruin his campaign, repeatedly threatens to expose Brandon's past and, under the pressure, Brandon finally agrees to help Stetson by "finding" Haddon with Mrs. Brandon at a café and then publicly denouncing him. On the prescribed day, with more threats of exposure, Stetson succeeds in trapping Antoinette in his accomplice's house. Apprised of the set-up, however, Antoinette escapes by a clever ruse and heads in a car for the café. Stetson and his accomplice pursue her closely but are killed by a train at a railroad crossing. Arriving at the café before Brandon, Antoinette foils the plot and then confesses her past to Haddon, who happily forgives her.
Director
Ralph Ince
Cast
Anita Stewart
Harry T. Morey
Rose Tapley
L. Rogers Lytton
Julia Swayne Gordon
E. K. Lincoln
Crew
Film Details
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
This film was originally released in August 1914 as a three reel Broadway Star Feature produced by Vitagraph and distributed through General Film Co. Mr. and Mrs. George Randolph Chester edited the expanded 1919 version, and William S. Adams shot the additional footage. According to a modern source, George Randolph Chester wrote a "story" on which the film was based, but no contemporary information has been found to corroborate this claim. An ad for the 1914 release suggested that the film was adapted from a popular Broadway show, but no other sources make reference to such a play. Modern sources list Ralph Ince and Lucille Lee Stewart in the cast. In the 1919 copyright plot synopsis, the character of the blackmailer is called "the count," not "Mark Stetson."
