The Cup of Life is a 1915 American silent film. It is a drama film which was directed by Thomas H. Ince and Raymond B. West, with a scenario written by C. Gardner Sullivan and Thomas Ince. Though Thomas Ince produced both films, this film is unrelated to The Cup of Life (1921 film).
The film is about the lives of two sisters (played by Bessie Barriscale and Enid Markey) who choose different paths in life.
Contents
Plot summary
As described in contemporary film magazines, sisters Helen and Ruth Fiske are living a humble life on their department-store salaries. Helen dreams of an easy life of luxury and Ruth dreams of a simple, but contended domestic life. Helen takes up with the wealthy John Ward, despite Ruth's doubts. Ruth marries a man of modest means and they build a solid household. Helen begins circulating among men of the monied class.
After some years, Ruth is now a mother and runs a happy household. Helen has been abroad, but her position in high society is waning as she ages. Helen returns to America to win back a former suitor, James Kellerman, but he has moved on to a younger, less jaded woman. The sisters are reunited, but seeing her sister's dream fulfilled depresses Helen further and she proceeds further down a path of dissipation.
Cast
Bessie Barriscale as Helen Fiske
Enid Markey as Ruth Fiske
Charles Ray as John Ward
Frank Borzage as Dick Ralston
Arthur Maude as Jack Jordan
J. Barney Sherry as James Kellerman
Louise Glaum as Irene Bullard
Harry Keenan as John Standing
Howard Hickman as Higsby
Jerome Storm as Sam Dugan, credited as Jerry Storm
Preservation
Complete prints of the 1915 film, The Cup of Life, are held by the Library of Congress, as well as the Cineteca Del Friuli in Gemona.