Released 3/14/15 by Universal/Rex; Director: Joseph De Grasse; Screenplay: uncredited, but probably Ida May Park; 2 reels
CAST: Pauline Bush (Sister Ursula), William C. Dowlan (Manuel), Lon Chaney (Perez)
SYNOPSIS: Sister Ursula is a novice in a convent in Southern Spain. One day, while the peddler Perez comes to the convent to sell his wares, she sees Manuel, a handsome cavalier riding by and she cannot suppress her feelings of affection for him. Perez sells the Abbess a beautiful length of fabric for an altar cloth, but when Ursula is putting it away, she cannot resist the temptation to drape herself in the cloth and admire her own beauty. Coming to her senses, she runs to the Abbess to confess her sins. Her penance is to kneel in vigil before the altar all night, but during the night she falls into a deep sleep. She dreams that Perez tempts her to leave with him by saying he will make her Manuel's lover. She is traveling with Perez, disguised as a boy, when they come upon a group of thieves, who proceed to attack Manuel when he passes near their camp. With the help of Perez, Ursula drugs the guards, and they help Manuel escape. The trio comes upon a troupe of dancing girls, who tease Ursula for "his" shyness. Carmela, one of the dancers, attempts to win Manuel's favor, and when she does not succeed she attacks him with a knife. Ursula steps in her path and is stabbed in the arm. While tending to Ursula's wound, Manuel discovers her true identity. The girls plan a feast for Ursula, but Carmela denounces her as a fallen nun. The crowd attack her and beat her for her sins. Ursula wakes up on the altar with the Abbess beside her, and they pray together for her forgiveness.
"One of Joseph De Grasse's productions on which the writer evidently put a lot of thought, but some of the actions of the characters will be more apt to strike the spectator as humorous than serious. However, the story is very well constructed and contains some psychological ideas which will make people think twice. The scenes in the convent are beautiful and the rest are almost equally artistic. William Dowlan is a chevalier and Lon Chaney gets in some fine character work as the peddler." ---Motion Picture News
© 1996,2008 Jon C. Mirsalis
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