Nora, the waif, is forced to attend school. She warms to her teacher for the way that he defends her against the taunts of some of the students, but when she's made to wear a dunce cap, she flees the schoolhouse in shame. Unsupervised by her alcoholic father, Nora becomes a determined truant, wandering the town during school hours. There she catches the attention of a huckster, who convinces her that they will run away and be married. The schoolmaster, meanwhile, preoccupied by Nora's absence, leaves his other students to go find her. He encounters her at a crossroads, being spirited away by the huckster, and calls the man's bluff by saying that he'll find them a minister.
Acting
Pickford's waif radiates pathos without uttering a word.
Direction
Griffith cross-cuts tension at the crossroads climax.
Editing
Rapid parallel action builds suspense in under 90 seconds.
Director
D.W. Griffith
Edwin August
The School Teacher
Mary Pickford
Nora, the Waif
Charles Hill Mailes
Nora's Father
Claire McDowell
The Street Fakir's Sweetheart
William A. Carroll
The Street Fakir's Assistant
Robert Harron
Schoolboy
Kate Bruce
Josephine Crowell
Ella Hall
Schoolgirl (unconfirmed)
Grace Henderson
A Mother
Mae Marsh
Schoolgirl
Frank Opperman
At the Bee
Alfred Paget
At the Bee
Jack Pickford
Extra
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
US
