Pioneers: Dorothy Davenport (Part 1)

1929, 74 minutes, Digital
USA

Director: Dorothy Davenport

Distributor: Kino Lorber

Feature Film:
Linda

Director Dorothy Davenport explores the constraints of women in a patriarchal society in this sensitively handled melodrama about a bright young woman (a striking Helen Foster), in love with a young doctor, but forced by her brutal backwoods father to marry an older man.

The Stillwater family lives a stark life in the mountains. The father cuts timber to bring in money while the mother works thanklessly to take care of their many children. Her only relief is their eldest daughter Linda who is a bright but dreaming girl. But Linda’s future looks even bleaker when she learns that her father has promised her to a much older man, the harsh head of the local lumber mill, Armstrong Decker.

“Touching… A series highlight.”
— Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

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Series sponsored by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.