The Primrose Path

During its last year of existence, Arrow Pictures continued to churn out largely unexceptional films, as with this example, a six reel melodrama thick with sentiment that features Wallace MacDonald as Bruce Armstrong, a pliable young man having weaknesses for alcohol and gambling, and Clara Bow as Marilyn Merrill, a cabaret entertainer whose affection for Bruce proves to be authentic. At a night club named the Sans Souci, where Marilyn is employed and where illegal gambling occurs, Bruce slides deeply into debt to the club's owner, Tom Canfield (Stuart Holmes), who holds Armstrong's bounced checks to coerce Bruce, in order to save himself from being jailed, into becoming an accessory of Canfield in the latter's diamond smuggling operations. Bruce also becomes embroiled with others of Canfield's criminal group, and after two violent deaths occur in his presence, the situation becomes potentially ruinous for Armstrong, who relies increasingly upon a devoted Marilyn for support while endeavouring to reassure his widowed mother and crippled younger brother of his sufficiency in handling increased difficulties that spiral toward an emotional courtroom trial. The screenplay, from actress Leah Baird who always preferred writing to performing, brings tender emotions to the fore as in all of her work, with one resultant advantage for this effort: a softer than usual role for Bow, although still evidently very much a woman of the world in a film routinely directed by Harry O. Hoyt, and with acting laurels going to the talented MacDonald, whose face accurately mirrors his emotional struggles. Although recently restored, most prints of this scarce production are less than ideal due to lost footage, but remain a valuable addition just the same to libraries of silent film enthusiasts.

Alcoholic playboy Wallace MacDonald (as Bruce Armstrong) would like to sober up and become more responsible, after a drinking accident causes him to cripple little brother Pat Moore (as Jimmy Armstrong). Still, the lure of liquor makes him to sneak drinks at home, and go out partying with carefree showgirl Clara Bow (as Marilyn Merrill). He's promised Ms. Bow he'll quit drinking and gambling. Further complicating Mr. MacDonald's life are the bad checks he's been accumulating. Nasty Stuart Holmes (as Tom Canfield) and Tom Santschi (as "Big Joe" Snead) force MacDonald to join their diamond smuggling racket, in lieu of payment.

Bow would like to help MacDonald, but finds herself similarly under Tom's thumb. An accidental killing puts the couple in additional dire straits. Soon, crippled brother Moore is forced into the spotlight. Reminded of his "Boy Scout" oath, young Moore is asked to testify against wayward MacDonald. Star Wallace MacDonald and reliable scene-stealers like Clara Bow, Stuart Holmes, and Tom Santschi are no match for young Pat Moore, who is handed the film on a silver platter, and wisely accepts. Moore's limping "Boy Scout" takes "The Primrose Path" all the way to the bank.

****** The Primrose Path (9/15/25) Harry Hoyt ~ Wallace MacDonald, Clara Bow, Pat Moore

A mediocre meller with too much sentimental emphasis on the hero's maudlin mother, angelic little brother, and guilt over laming the little brother in an accident because he touched that filthy alcohol! Clara looks spectacular--can't recall her hair ever being quite so elevated or spit-gurls so fussed-over elsewhere. But the plot hobbles her high spirits by making her be a showgirl who nonetheless is also a terribly virtuous Good Girl, with little to do but fret over her man's troubles. She is too often sidelined here, and the suspense elements (which eventually land the hero in a murder trial) are too simplistically contrived to be effective. It's a slick example of typical major-studio product from the era, and of course anything with Clara is worth a once-over. Still, the subpar material makes it one of her least satisfying surviving films.