Lois Weber, a pioneering silent-era director, made these films towards the end of a prolific career. She would only make one more before retiring. Beyond the fact that they draw from literary sources, faith serves as the common denominator.
In 1927's Sensation Seekers, from Ernest Pascal's novel Egypt, Billie Dove plays Luena "Egypt" Hagen, a Jazz Age party girl intent on drinking and dancing her life away. She's got fun-loving friends, a fabulous wardrobe, and a sweetheart named Ray Sturgis (Huntley Gordon) who shares her fondness for the nightlife.
When she meets handsome pastor Norman Lodge (Raymond Bloomer) at the beach, they engage in some sparky banter, but she doesn't think too much of it. Her mother attends his church, but Egypt has no interest in religion.
One night on the town, she spots her father cavorting with another woman. Moments later, police raid the club, which has been serving alcohol illegally. At her mother's request, Norman bails her out, not least because she was covering for another patron. This confluence of events leads her to believe her life is "colorless," so she seeks spiritual guidance from the pastor, leading the townspeople to suspect an affair, except she remains committed to Ray. When Norman finds out she's gone yachting on a suddenly stormy night, he sets out to rescue her. By the end, he has saved her body and soul. To Weber's credit, she depicts these events with a light hand, bolstered by Dove's sympathetic performance.
A Chapter in Her Life, from four years prior, represents a trickier proposition. An adaptation of Clara Louise Burnham’s 1903 novel Jewel, the story centers on an eight-year-old (Jane Mercer) who brings a moribund household back to life, a harmless enough development, except it involves an argument for faith over science. Jewel's grandfather, Mr. Everingham (Claude Gillingwater), gave up on her father when he married a dressmaker and took to the bottle, but his son has since gotten his act together.
When he and his wife get the opportunity to work abroad, Everingham agrees to look after Jewel. At first, the widower resents the girl's bubbly presence as he would rather read his paper and smoke his pipe in peace, while housekeeper Mrs. Forbes (Eva Thatcher), daughter-in-law Madge (Frances Raymond), and cousin Eloise (Jacqueline Gadsdon) compete with her for his attentions. It's a losing battle.
Just as Jewel is wearing down her grandfather's resistance, she falls ill but rejects the medicine the doctor offers, vowing to get well on her own, and so she does. She also cures Mrs. Forbes's son's alcoholism by handing him a religious tract (she hands Eloise one, too). The script never specifies that she's a Christian Scientist, but audiences of the time were probably aware of the author's background.
A Chapter in Her Life is an otherwise charming effort, but less substantial than The Sensation Seekers. In her informative commentary track, Lois Weber biographer Shelley Stamp places the films in the context of the director's remarkable career. Recommended. (K. Fennessy)