The Cry of the Children

A social conscience drama produced by the Thanhouser Studio one year after more than 140 workers - many of them child labourers - died in a factory fire, which features scenes that were actually filmed in a mill. The anger over that incident is evident in George Nichol's film, but it's weakened by characters that are typical of the kind of broad stereotypes found in early silent movies. Marie Eline, the "Thanhouser Kid" shines as the tragic, beloved child of an impoverished family employed by a heartless mill owner.