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Contents
Plot
Lobby card
Cast
Directed by Emory Johnson
Film name
Produced by Carl Laemmle
Preservation status
Written by Emory Johnson
Gallery
(adaptation)
References
Carroll Owen
External links (titles)
Starring Belle Bennett
After living awhile with Mrs. Graham, selfish Virginia becomes jealous of her mother-in-law's devotion to her
son. She issues an ultimatum – Gordon's mother goes, or she will leave. Gordon can't kick his mother out of
her house. Frustrated, Virginia takes Sonny, moves out, and gets a divorce. Virginia then sets her sights on her
wealthy boss - Frederick Stoneman, played by Frank Elliott. They get married. Later Stoneman is found guilty
of embezzlement and sent to prison. Virginia is now destitute, unmarried, and no future prospects.
Sonny, played by Robert Agnew, is now a grown man and happily married. Sonny arranged for his poor
mother to live with him and his wife. Soon Sonny's wife becomes jealous of Virginia's devotion to her son.
Sonny and his wife move to Paris and take Virginia with them. Virginia has trouble dealing with the demands
of Sonny's wife. The circle is now complete; Virginia decides to disappear in the streets of Paris.
Gordon and his wife, Marjorie, are attending a business function in Paris. They are recognized on the streets of
Paris by a haggard-looking woman. As the mystery woman walks to greet them, Virginia dies in the street.
Cast
Actor Role
Henry Victor Gordon Graham
June Marlowe Marjorie Miller
Belle Bennett Virginia
Leigh Willard Edmund Graham
Mary Carr Mrs. Graham
Brady Kline Ray Miller
Catherine Wallace Mrs. Miller
Frank Elliott Frederick Stoneman
Knute Erickson John Malloy
Kathleen Myers Mrs. Smith
Robert Agnew Sonny
Wendell Phillips Franklin Sonny, as a child
Lorraine Rivero Marjorie, as a child
Malcolm Jones Gordon, as a child
Stanley Taylor Count Douglas Von Rosen
Film name
A few periodicals have incorrectly labeled the film as - FOURTH COMMANDMENT. The final
determination can be made by company's registration with the US government office of copyrights. Shown
below is the entry from the Catalog of Copyright Entries-Cumulative Series dated 1951 -
Preservation status
A report created by film historian and archivist David Pierce for the Library of Congress claims:
Archive: BFI/National Film And Television Archive (London) [Gbb], Library of Congress
(Washington) [Usw]
Holdings: Foreign Archive
Completeness: complete
Note: Digital files produced from 16mm print on loan from a private collector: Usw
Note: BFI is 35mm incomplete
Copies of this movie are not available on YouTube, movie vendors, or the Internet Archive.
Gallery
Players and director
References
1. The Fourth Commandment (https://catalog.afi.com/Film/9226-THE-FOURTH-COMMANDMEN
T) The AFI Catalog of Feature Films
2. "The Fourth Commandment" (http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/493372/The-Fourth-Commandme
nt/). www.tcm.com.
3. "Catalog of Copyright Entries-Cumulative Series" (https://archive.org/details/Motionpict191219
39librrich0010/page/n6?). Motion Pictures. Library of Congress, Copyright Office. 1912 - 1939.
1951.
4. Pierce, David. "The Survival of American Silent Films: 1912-1929" (https://www.loc.gov/static/p
rograms/national-film-preservation-board/documents/pub158.final_version_sept_2013.pdf)
(PDF). Library Of Congress. Council on Library and Information Resources and the Library of
Congress. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
5. Slide, Anthony (2000). Nitrate Won't Wait: History of Film Preservation in the United States (http
s://books.google.com/books?id=HZIq5-_hu5cC&pg=PA5). McFarland. p. 5. ISBN 978-
0786408368. Retrieved March 25, 2013. "It is often claimed that 75 percent of all American
silent films are gone and 50 percent of all films made prior to 1950 are lost, but such figures, as
archivists admit in private, were thought up on the spur of the moment, without statistical
information to back them up."
6. The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: The Fourth
Commandment (http://lcweb2.loc.gov:8081/diglib/ihas/loc.mbrs.sfdb.259/default.html)
External links
The Fourth Commandment (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0016904/) on IMDb
The Fourth Commandment (https://www.allmovie.com/movie/v92243) at AllMovie
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