Stella Dallas

Stella, from a small town, marries Stephen Dallas, a man of society with whom she has nothing in common. The marriage does not hold; after their daughter Laurel is born they separate and Stephen returns to New York. Stella keeps the child, but can never adapt to the standards of dress and behaviour of the circle she has entered and stands out wherever she goes. When Laurel grows up and becomes engaged to someone from that circle, the question in front of the mother becomes plain: for her daughter to be happy, she has to withdraw from her life. Henry King’s hundred and ten minute American silent film was made from Olive Higgins Prouty’s 1923 novel, adapted by Frances Marion. Belle Bennett plays Stella and Ronald Colman plays Stephen; it was completed in 1925.