According to Warner Bros. records, Constance Bennett was interested in playing Mary, and John Barrymore and John Litel were tested as Rogers. Litel was later cast as "Clark Tilden" but was replaced byMinor Watson. The film was based onEdmund Goulding's earlier script forThe Trespasser, starring Gloria Swanson, which he also directed (seeAFI Catalog of Feature Films, 1921-30; F2.5834). ...

According to Warner Bros. records, Constance Bennett was interested in playing Mary, and John Barrymore and John Litel were tested as Rogers. Litel was later cast as "Clark Tilden" but was replaced byMinor Watson. The film was based onEdmund Goulding's earlier script forThe Trespasser, starring Gloria Swanson, which he also directed (seeAFI Catalog of Feature Films, 1921-30; F2.5834).

Mary Donnell, the widow of gangster Al Haines, is quietly working for prominent lawyer Lloyd Rogers, when a muckracking journalist named Virgil Whitaker drags up her past and threatens her happiness. Rogers and Mary convince Whitaker not to print the story, but fearing exposure, Mary turns down millionaire playboy Jack Merrick's marriage proposal. Rogers, who secretly loves Mary, tells Jack her story, which only further endears her to him. On their wedding night, Jack's father follows the couple, demanding an annulment. Jack protests, but Merrick, Sr. stands firm. Mary gives up the fight, hoping that Jack will come after her. She moves in with her old friend Amy and hides her son Jackie from the Merrick family. Jack then marries society girl Florence "Flip" Carson, but on their honeymoon, Flip is permanently crippled in an auto accident. Eventually, Mary accepts Rogers' love and financial support, hoping that Mrs. Rogers will not be hurt. However, when Rogers dies in Mary's apartment, the press suggests that Jackie is his child. Jack visits Mary and learns that he is Jackie's father. Merrick, Sr. takes legal action to adopt Jackie, but it is Flip, whom Mary both admires and pities, who inspires Mary to give Jackie up. Years later, Virgil, who has befriended Mary during her troubles, finds her in Monte Carlo and tells her that Flip is dead, leaving Jack free to return to ...

Mary Donnell, the widow of gangster Al Haines, is quietly working for prominent lawyer Lloyd Rogers, when a muckracking journalist named Virgil Whitaker drags up her past and threatens her happiness. Rogers and Mary convince Whitaker not to print the story, but fearing exposure, Mary turns down millionaire playboy Jack Merrick's marriage proposal. Rogers, who secretly loves Mary, tells Jack her story, which only further endears her to him. On their wedding night, Jack's father follows the couple, demanding an annulment. Jack protests, but Merrick, Sr. stands firm. Mary gives up the fight, hoping that Jack will come after her. She moves in with her old friend Amy and hides her son Jackie from the Merrick family. Jack then marries society girl Florence "Flip" Carson, but on their honeymoon, Flip is permanently crippled in an auto accident. Eventually, Mary accepts Rogers' love and financial support, hoping that Mrs. Rogers will not be hurt. However, when Rogers dies in Mary's apartment, the press suggests that Jackie is his child. Jack visits Mary and learns that he is Jackie's father. Merrick, Sr. takes legal action to adopt Jackie, but it is Flip, whom Mary both admires and pities, who inspires Mary to give Jackie up. Years later, Virgil, who has befriended Mary during her troubles, finds her in Monte Carlo and tells her that Flip is dead, leaving Jack free to return to Mary.