Fourth Commandment

In the tradition of her previous appearance as the title character in Stella Dallas, Belle Bennett suffers her way through all six reels of The Fourth Commandment. Bennett plays Virginia, the selfish wife of Edmund Graham (Leigh Willard), unable to tolerate her amiable but intrusive mother-in-law (Mary Carr). Finally, Virginia delivers an ultimatum: “Either your mother goes, or I go!” Ultimately, what comes around goes around when the aging Virginia is given the boot by her own daughter-in-law. In case there’s any doubt, the “fourth commandment” is “Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother.”