The Moth and the Flame (1915) Stuart Baird and Irene Hawley Daniel Frohman presents Clyde Fitch's Powerful Drama "THE MOTH AND THE FLAME" in Motion Pictures Produced by FAMOUS PLAYERS FILM CO. ADOLPH ZUKOR, PRES.  (C) 1915 Caption: A Moment of Happiness Adele Rey (Ray) and Bradley Barker. According to Professor Tom Graham of Flagler College, this photo was taken in the carriage drive of the Hotel Ponce de Leon in St. Augustine, Florida, which shows up in the background. Caption: "What Do You Mean by all this, with disgrace in front of you!" Caption: "The Deserted Mother" Maurice Stewart (Steuart) and Irene Howley. Caption: Fletcher gives financial aid to the stricken family. Stuart Baird is signing the check. Caption: "You dare not marry her!" Stuart Baird at right. Caption: The Accusation Adele Rey (Ray), Stuart Baird and Bradley Barker Caption: "At least let us be friends." Adele Rey (Ray), Stuart Baird, and Bradley Barker Caption: The beginning of a romance. Adele Rey (Ray) and Bradley Barker. According to Professor Tom Graham of Flagler College, this photo was taken in the courtyard of the Hotel Alcazar in St. Augustine, Florida. Caption: "You know this means prison for you!" "THE MOTH AND THE FLAME" (Famous Players-Paramount -- Four Reels) REVIEWED BY PETER MILNE FEW stories have such dramatic power as the kind which pictures a woman blindly in love with a man of shady morals. In "The Moth and the Flame," this theme is the foundation of Clyde Fitch's drama, which was so successful on the stage and which is considered by many one of the best if not the best of his plays. The human interest qualities in the story, which grow with every increasing rapidity as the plot develops, are of the most sympathetically powerful variety imaginable. The climax which caps the greater part of the action is extremely forceful. The man is about to be married to the girl, the minister has uttered the conventional words to determine if there is anyone among the witnesses who offers an objection to the union, when the other woman announces her presence, upholds her statement by the man's confused anger, and with her little boy. Afterwards the girl marries another most ardent suitor, and with a gratifying scene of the other man reconciled with the woman he had betrayed, the picture closes. Playing the role of the deceived girl who discovers the man's perfidy just in time is Adele Rey, who gives an expression and pleasing performance in this leading feminine part. As her intended husband, Stuart Baird, renders a heavy part with consiferable ability, while the other woman is played by Irene Howley. the suitor is Bradley Barker, while others in the cast are Arthur Donaldson, Edward Mordant, Dora Adams and young Maurice Stewart. It is of interest that this production is Sidney Olcott's first picture done for the Famous Players. On the whole he has made a very find offering. The photography is good and the lighting well attended to, while the settings are most appropriate. The fact that several unnecessary scenes are apparent during the four reels does not detract from the story's interest at all; they serve as a relief from the tension that most of the scenes create. Motion Picture News May 29, 1915, page 66 The Moth and the Flame -- (FIVE REELS) -- FAMOUS PLAYERS -- The famous Clyde Fitch play done in pictures, with a cast consisting of Stewart Baird, Adele Rey, Edward Mordant, Irene Howley, Bradley Barker and Arthur Donaldson. The moth is Marion Molton, a fashionable New York girl, who loves Edward Fletcher, though she is warned against him by her friends, who know his real character. She defends him and loves him all the more because of his enemies, and openly declares she does not believe the stories of his past. As she is about to marry him, another woman with a child presents herself and claims the name of the man, who is father of the child. The moth, blinded by the flame, cannot see the perils threatening her until this dramatic climax is reached, and with the extinguishment of the flame the moth, though her wings are singed, manages to fly away to safety. Motography, May 22, 1915, pp. 856-857 THE MOTH AND THE FLAME. Edward Fletcher Stuart Baird Mr. Dawson Edward Mordant Douglas Rhodes Bradley Barker Mr. Walton Arthur Donaldson Marion Walton Adele Rey Mrs. Walton Dora M. Adams Jeanette Graham Irene Howley Jeanette's Boy Maurice Stewart Four reels of old fashioned melodrama are the principal asset of the Famous Players feature "The Moth and the Flame" which has been released through the Paramont and is shown at the Broadway this week. The picture has been produced with infinite care by Sidney Olcott and the cast which while it contains no big name from the legitimate  is entirely adequate at all times for the requirements of the various roles. The photodrama is an adaption of the play of the same title written by the late Clyde Fitch. it contains the old, old story of the maiden wronged and then scorned, who appears at the opportune moment when her seducer is about to marry a young and unsuspecting girl and spoils what might have been a perfectly happy wedding. However "The Moth and the Flame" as a picture has much that is good and it will serve to entertain in a measure. Director Olcott has made most effective use of mirrors in several scenes and his party scene was most effective. However there is one point that might have been strengthened and that was in the cast. Stewart Baird as the heavy Edward Fletcher, had some much on the hero Douglas, played by Bradley Narker (sic), both in appearance and acting ability, that one was almost sorry the latter got the girl in the long run, in spite of the fact that the story made it a necessity. There was one feature of the accompanying music at the Broadway shoing distinctly noticeable and that was that each of the characters in the play had a musical motif which was played for each entrance. The old familiar ballad of the same title as the picture might have found a place in the musical accompaniment. it is still remembered by a great many people and to say the least it would lend atmosphere. Fred Variety, May 1915, page 89 with Stewart Baird and Adele Rey (Adele Ray). Directed by Sidney Olcott. Famous Players (Paramount). More Information on this film...                                       Books (none) Last Modified November 9, 2015