Life's Whirlpool (1917) [N/A]
Featuring:
Ethel Barrymore, Paul Everton, Alan Hale
Written by:
Lionel Barrymore
Directed by:
Lionel Barrymore
Release Date:
November 8, 1917
Original Title:
Life's Whirlpool
Genres:
Drama
Production Companies:
Metro Pictures Corporation
Production Countries:
United States of America
Ratings / Certifications:
N/A
Runtime: 50
Ethel Barrymore plays the wife of an abusive country squire. So nasty is her husband that he all but forces her to seek solace in the arms of her former sweetheart (played by Alan Hale in his leading-man period). Their clandestine relationship finally comes out in the open when the nasty husband is killed by his irate tenants.
Esther Carey, who has spent her youth caring for her invalid father, is left alone at his death. Soon after, Esther marries John Martin, a cold, heartless man. Prior to the marriage, John's household had been run by his sister Ruth, who now resents Esther's intrusion. Between John's neglect and Ruth's vindictiveness, Esther is miserable, her only joy being the birth of her baby. Consequently, when Esther meets an old suitor, Dr. Henry Grey, their old love is rekindled, and Henry, realizing the gravity of the situation, leaves for the battlefields of France. Later, he sends Esther a letter, which Ruth intercepts and shows to her brother. In a rage, John drives Esther from the house. Meanwhile, Dirk Kanst, a farmer whom John has ruined and who is now insane with rage, enters the house and strangles John to death. Ruth casts suspicion upon Esther, and she is arrested for the murder. Esther is acquitted, however, when detective B. J. Hendrix finds Dirk's battered hat near the library window, traces its owner to a nearby village and obtains his confession to the crime. Esther's happiness is then made complete when Henry returns and they are reunited.
