A Mother's Secret (1918) User Reviews

Ella Hall has never had quite so good an opportunity to bring out her special characteristics

[deickemeyer · 15 November 2015]

Perhaps in her entire career as a screen actress Ella Hall has never had quite so good an opportunity to bring out her special characteristics as in this entertaining subject. It gives her the opportunity she has always wanted, that of playing both a little girl and a grown woman in the same photoplay. There is probably no one in the moving picture field who combines the two ages in one personality so strikingly. Ella Hall looks like a grown woman at times, but she has never left off being a little girl, a fact she abundantly proves in this number. The story itself is an absorbing one. It was written by Lois Zellner, adapted by Doris Schroeder and directed by Douglas Gerard. This story is so natural and convincing that it deserves high praise, both for its very human plot and the manner of its presentation. Mary Hirsch does admirable character work in the part of the mother. Others in the cast are Emory Johnson, T. C. Crittenden, Mrs. L. C. Harris and Grace McLean. The war episodes in France, at the beginning, are exceptionally well staged. - The Moving Picture World, May 4, 1918

A Mother's Secret (1918) -- Lost Film

[PamelaShort · 6 February 2015]

Eighteen year old Angela ( Ella Hall ) lives with her grandmother in Virginia but knows very little about her mother, Lady Eldone ( Mary Mersch ), who after the death of Angela's father, married an English army captain and moved to Europe. When Captain Eldone ( T.D. Crittenden ) is reported dead, Lady Eldone returns to the United States determined to this time to marry a wealthy man. When Angela surprises her mother with a visit, Lady Eldone reacts with distress, fearing her daughter's presence will reveal her true age to the man she hopes to marry, Howard Grey ( Emory Johnson ). Therefore, Angela is forced to dress as a child, and when Howard, to whom she is greatly attracted, presents her with a doll, embarrassed, she resolves to leave the house. Later that night, Angela catches Rose Marie ( Grace McLean ) her mother's maid, opening the safe and has her arrested. Just then, Captain Eldone arrives, which greatly relieves Lady Eldone and leaves Howard free to court the woman he really loves, Angela.

Sadly this 1918 drama starring the beautiful actress Ella Hall, is now considered a lost silent film. Ella Hall was a very popular actress and triumphed in Mary Pickford type roles for the Universal Film Manufacturing Company.