Fires of Youth
This interesting melodrama came from the Thanhouser Company. Steel king Pemberton (Frederick Warde) is called Iron-Hearted Pemberton by his unhappy workers. The old man has spent his life amassing a fortune and now that he's old he has no idea how to enjoy himself. While trying to teach himself how to play, he meets Billy (Helen Badgley), the son of one of his employees. Pemberton and the boy become good friends, and the old man goes to work at his own mills under the name Peter Brown. There he meets Billy's sister, Rose (stage star Jeanne Eagels, in a rare screen appearance), and becomes infatuated with her. But his romantic dreams are crushed when he discovers that Rose loves Jim, a co-worker her own age (Robert Vaughn). Pemberton stays home one day to start making changes to benefit his employees and Billy, thinking that he will be fired for not showing up on the job, takes his place. The boy is badly burned in an accident, and the workers rebel. They draw straws to see who will kill Pemberton, and Pemberton, as Peter Brown, gets picked. He decides to commit suicide, but Rose saves him. With his identity revealed, Pemberton goes about doing right by his employees and everyone is happy. more..
Director: Emile Chautard