Secrets
About Secrets
At 75, Mary Carlton reads her diary while John is ill. In 1865 her parents, the Marlowes, lock her in and fire John Carlton, a working man. She leaves England with him. By 1870 they are poor in the West. She bears a son, John Jr., and makes John stand up to a gang. In 1888 she finds his mistress, Estelle. Estelle humiliates her. Mary offers a divorce. John refuses, says the affair meant nothing, and tells her the money is gone. They stay together. In the present, John recovers.
Cast & crew
More about Secrets
Frank Borzage directed. Frances Marion wrote the screenplay from the 1922 play Secrets by Rudolph Besier and May Edginton. Norma Talmadge produced and plays Mary at each age. Eugene O'Brien plays John. First National released it. Tony Gaudio photographed. George Nichols and Emily Fitzroy play her parents. Gertrude Astor plays Estelle.
Themes
Look
Tony Gaudio shot the English rooms and the later Western years.
Preservation
Prints survive.
Notes
- Talmadge plays Mary from the 1860s through old age.
- Mary Pickford played the part in the 1933 remake.
- The diary frame is the present. The West and the mistress are entries.
- Copies survive. It was not issued on video or DVD for years.
- A copy is on the Internet Archive as SecretsForYT.
Scenes
- Mary's father locks her in. She leaves with John anyway.
- Estelle faces her. John will not take the divorce.
Influenced by
- Secrets, the 1922 play by Rudolph Besier and May Edginton
Also available
- Internet Archive (SecretsForYT)
