A Great Love (1916)

• 42%
• 1916
• Drama
• Romance
• Clifford S. Elfelt
• Hayward Mack
• Mina Cunard
• Vola Vale

Harold du Vane and his wife have a misunderstanding, caused by Harold's attentiveness to his paintings. He and his wife quarrel and Harold tells her that he is going to some quiet place where he can work without interruption. A short time later, Harold arrives in the heart of the wilderness. Nearby there is a camp of an old woodcutter, Dave Woodward, and his daughter, Nell. Jim Smith, a young man, assists old Dave with his wood cutting. He has long loved Nell, but she has refused to take his love seriously. She and Harold meet and he recognizes her as a type he is desirous of painting. She is easily persuaded to pose for him. One day Harold realizes that Nell loves him and he feels a pang of regret for leading her on and neglecting his wife. He falls asleep beside a tree. Nell's father is mortally wounded by a falling tree and Jim brings him to the cabin. Before dying, the old man places the care of his daughter in Jim's hands and tells him he hopes that they will marry. This thought is too much for Nell, and in an outburst she tells Jim that she could never marry him, as the artist has her love. She rushes out and hurries to the artist's camp. She throws herself in Harold's arms and declares her love. He tells her that he is married and that he must return to his wife. She begs him to meet her that night under the fourth tree. Harold goes to the appointed place and finds the fourth tree to be in the midst of a lake. On looking closer, he finds Nell beneath the water. Jim has crept to the place and accused Harold of murdering the girl, and just as Harold is about to be killed he is awakened by Nell playfully shaking him. He can hardly believe Nell is real. He tells her that he is returning to his wife and that as a wedding present to Jim and herself he is leaving the picture. He returns home and hurrying to his wife's room, finds that in his absence a little stranger has arrived. There is a happy reconciliation between husband and wife.