The Moment Before
The film begins by presenting the elderly and elegant Duke and Duchess of Maldon, engaged in charitable acts in a Dickensian village. The following day, the duke falls off his horse and is mortally injured. Mourning the loss of her great love, the duchess collapses in church, and in the “moment before death” she reviews her own life. “It was in her youth that she had fractured practically all the Biblical commandments,” says the intertitle. In fact, when she was young, Madge the duchess was a seductive gypsy, engaged to the fiery gypsy John, but fascinated by Harold, the idle aristocratic son of the Maldons, who was prone to the family vice of excessive drinking. In love with the gypsy, Harold brings her home as a servant, scandalizing his older brother. A fight between the brothers and John’s jealousy lead to a fatal accident that forces both Harold and the gypsy couple to flee to Australia.
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Cast
9 people
Pauline Frederick
Madge, the Duchess of Maldon
Also in
Smouldering Fires
Thank You, Mr. Moto
Thomas Holding
Harold, the Duke of Maldon
Also in
The Three Musketeers
The Dream Lady
Robert G. Vignola
Hugh Ford
Frank Losee
the elder Duke of Maldon
Known for
Orphans of the Storm
Israel Zangwill
Jack W. Johnston
Also in
The Virginian
The Twin Pawns
Eddie Sturgis
Also in
Fazil
After Midnight
Henry Hallam
The Bishop
Also in
Tol'able David
The Girl Without a Soul
Robert G. Vignola Director · Hugh Ford Screenplay Israel Zangwill Author
United States release April 27, 1916 · Produced in United States · Production Famous Players Film Company
Production
Famous Players-Lasky Corporation
Production
Famous Players Film Company
Production
United States
Produced in
Languages
Original language
English
Spoken on screen
Italian
Release dates
United States · April 27, 1916
Theatrical
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Some details come from TheTVDB.