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The Lamb, the Woman, the Wolf
(1914) United States of America
B&W : Three reels
Directed by Allan Dwan
Cast: M.J. MacQuarrie (Murdock MacQuarrie) [the lamb], Pauline Bush [the woman], Lon Chaney [the wolf]
New York Motion Picture Corporation production; distributed by The Universal Film Manufacturing Company, Incorporated [‘101’ Bison - Universal]. / From a screen story by Allan Dwan. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format.
Drama: Western.
Synopsis: [?] [From The Moving Picture World]? The Lamb is one of these gentle young men who spend their lives looking after the affairs of others and in the meantime lose all the best that is the heritage of the young. This particular Lamb is devoting his life to his invalid mother and in his spare moment editing a weekly paper. The citizens of the small western town deride the editor and his paper. But there are two persons who have faith in him, and they are the Woman and his mother. He loves the Woman deeply, but would not propose marriage because he deems it would be unjust to saddle an invalid upon a young wife. After an absence of five years, the Wolf, a husky mountaineer, who is sure of himself and devoid of the finer instincts, visits his home town. He had an old love affair with the Woman. He again renews the suit for her hand. She is captivated by his masculine force of character and accepts his proposal of marriage. They are married and the Wolf takes the Woman to his hut in the mountains, where he is the agent between a stage line and a mining company. The monthly payroll money for the miners is delivered to him by the stage company and he turns it over to the mining company. The Woman learns of her mistake in marrying the Wolf. He is all the things she least suspected, a brute, an egotist without sentiment, or love for her. In the meantime the Lamb’s mother dies. Nursing this sorrow and the hopeless love for the Woman, he goes into the mountains in search of solitude. He falls in with a band of outlaws and at first is a visitor among them. Word travels to the village that he has actually become an active member of the band. He becomes a marked man, shunned and ostracized. He then determines that he will afford the village people cause for their fear and hatred of him. He becomes an outlaw and grows as coarse and as hardened as he was previously gentle and refined. The Wolf decides that as he is now thoroughly tired of the Woman, he will steal the payroll money left in his keeping and leave her. On the night set for the theft the Woman is alone guarding the money. The Lamb also has decided to steal it and he arrives first and is admitted by the Woman. He recognizes her as his first and only love, but she does not recognize him. To quiet her suspicions he lays his revolver upon the table. Presently someone outside is heard tampering with the lock. Each thinks the intruder a confederate of the other. The Woman covers the door with the Lamb’s revolver. A masked man enters and she shoots and kills him. It is her husband, the Wolf. She then recognizes the Lamb and with the new light that comes into her face and into his face, it can be seen that in the future a different, better life is in store for each.
Survival status: The film is presumed lost.
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Listing updated: 23 December 2024.
References: Spehr-American p. 100; Weaver-Twenty p. 76 : Website-IMDb.
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