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Human Desire (1919 film)

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Human Desire
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Directed byWilfrid North
Based onHuman Desire
1913 novel
by Violet Irwin
Produced byAnita Stewart
Louis B. Mayer
StarringAnita Stewart
Distributed byAssociated First National (later First National)
Release date
  • November 1919 (1919-11)
Running time
6 reels
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent (English intertitles)
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Human Desire is a 1919 American silent romantic drama film starring Anita Stewart who produced along with Louis B. Mayer. It was distributed by Associated First National.[1][2]

A copy of Human Desire is preserved in the Library of Congress and the Academy Film Archive.[3][4]

Plot

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As described in a film magazine,[5] the orphan Bernice (Stewart) is raised almost to womanhood by the good sisters in an Italian convent. Worshiping a picture of the Madonna and Child, she is seized by a great desire to have a child she can call her own. Running away to America, where she has been told babies are plentiful, she is taken in by Robert Bruce, an artist whose wife has refused to divorce him, and poses for his projected masterpiece, a Madonna. Bernice falls in love with the baby borrowed for this posing and is filled with sorrow when the child is taken away. Robert, who has become sincerely but honorably in love with the girl, adopts a baby for her. His wife meets Bernice and the baby, believes the worst, and insults her. Bernice takes the child and leaves the house, becoming lost in the city and finally finding refuge in a hospital where the child dies. Robert learns from his wife the reason for Bernice's departure, locates the girl, and, after divorcing his wife, marries her.

Cast

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References

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  1. ^ Progressive Silent Film List: Human Desire at silentera.com
  2. ^ The AFI Catalog of Feature Films: Human Desire
  3. ^ Catalog of Holdings The American film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress, p. 85 c.1978 American Film Institute
  4. ^ The Library of Congress/FIAF American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: Human Desire
  5. ^ "Reviews: Human Desire". Exhibitors Herald. 9 (6). New York City: Exhibitors Herald Company: 46. August 2, 1919.
  6. ^ "Human Desire (1919 film)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
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