When a Woman's 40 - Production & Contact Info

When a Woman's 40 (1914)
Short | Short, Drama

When a Woman's 40 (1914)

Short | Short, Drama

Lucile Danvers, at the age of forty, still reigns as queen of her social set. Wealthy, aristocratic, supremely confident of her powers to thrill and charm, the first scene shows her in the reception room of her magnificent home, surrounded...See moreLucile Danvers, at the age of forty, still reigns as queen of her social set. Wealthy, aristocratic, supremely confident of her powers to thrill and charm, the first scene shows her in the reception room of her magnificent home, surrounded by admiring friends. A young girl just entering upon her first social duties, magnetizes everybody present and Lucile notes that a number of her heretofore faithful admirers have left her side to enjoy the companionship of this young girl. Lucile is determined to surmount the obstacles which age has thrown in her path. She gives a magnificent fete in which splendor and magnificence of royalty are mimicked by herself and friends in a grand costume ball. At the ball the young girl whose popularity has aroused the emotions of envy in Lucile's mind, repeats her heart conquests upon this occasion. The proud spirit of Lucile is almost crushed. In her luxurious chamber, she views in visionary scenes her past successes and conquests for a score of years. She again sees her manly lover in all his pride of youth and re-enacts in the vision her refusal of his suit, his departure for India on a tiger hunt, and her shock at the news of his death in the jungle. In her vision, she locks the iron gates of her beautiful rose garden when she sent her lover away. The gate has remained closed ever since. In a self-imposed widowhood, and mourning for her young lover, Lucile Danvers, at the age of forty, appears among her friends with a new soul shining through her eyes. The generous wealth which fortune bestowed upon her is lavishly distributed in the homes of the needy poor. She founds a home for young girls and helps them to keep their feet in the straight and narrow path. Food and clothing are distributed by her in the wretched tenement districts where she appears as a ministering angel. The children of the slums are taken in her automobile to the green fields. The extensive grounds which distinguish her magnificent home become scenes of youthful romping. Thus the woman of forty toils bravely through devious and strange paths until she reaches a new kind of happiness where no regrets remain save the shadows of tragedy which left her no wife, yet a widow in spirit. Still beautiful and graceful, Lucile Danvers rejects the ravages which the years would mark as a toll upon her beauty while the light of a beautiful soul shines through her eyes. Day by day, her mind reverts to the handsome young boy of twenty years ago, who loved her and whom she loved, but who was sacrificed to her social ambitions. Too late she learned the truth, and each day was coming home to her more forcibly that her life would never be complete unless Fate should perform some miracle and return him to her side. In the gentle moonlight of a beautiful autumn evening, she strolls out into the gardens, her mind filled with thoughts of her lost love. The barred iron gates leading to the little rose garden attract her attention. Dry and shriveled, the dead roses and leaves cling to the rusty bars. She had ordered old Henri, the family butler, who still hobbled about the house, to close and lock the gate forever. A spirit prompted that she should command the presence of the old butler with the almost forgotten rusty keys, to again throw open the gates. As in a trance, she reentered the rose garden for the first time in a score of years. Stephen Landers, dismissed two decades ago because of the ambitions of Lucile Danvers, has always loved her. Cruelly torn by a tiger, he did not die, but spent years abroad, slowly recovering. His return home occurred on the same night that Lucile again entered the rose garden gates. Old Henri thinks him a ghost, but is quickly reassured. The open gate and the pointing finger of the old family butler tell the story to the returned lover. And so love wins the race against time. Written by Moving Picture World synopsis See less

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Cast	+ Add Cast
5 cast members

Name	Known for
Eugenie Besserer Lucille Danvers Lucille Danvers See fewer	The Jazz Singer (1927)
Lillian Leighton Lucille's Sister (as Lyllian Brown Leighton) Lucille's Sister (as Lyllian Brown Leighton) See fewer	Parisian Love (1925)
William Stowell Stephen Landers Stephen Landers See fewer	Fighting Mad (1917)
Mrs. Linne Debutante Debutante See fewer	When a Woman's 40 (1914)
Cecil Holland Henri - the Butler (as C.C. Holland) Henri - the Butler (as C.C. Holland) See fewer	The Garden of Allah (1916)