A 1917 silent film asks: would you erase your past for a perfect future?
The disgrace and suicide of her father drives Eleanore Marston from her comfortable existence into a life as a department store clerk in New York. There she meets wealthy Powers Fiske, who offers her a life of luxury if she will consent to an operation on her brain which would deprive her of her memory.
Acting
Emily Stevens' expressive face carries entire emotional arcs.
Direction
Baker balances lurid premise with surprising restraint.
Production
Surviving print preserved by George Eastman House.
Director
George D. Baker
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Part of a 1910s wave of 'neurasthenic heroine' films exploring women's mental health through melodrama.
Emily Stevens was a major stage star making rare screen appearances; most of her films are lost.
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