The Captive (1915)

In the years before he became known for his sexy domestic films and elaborate spectaculars, fledgling director Cecil B. DeMille tried his hand at many different types of stories. So this romantic drama, which takes place during the Balkan war, is not really a departure for him -- he was still discovering where his tastes and talents really lie. This film was also Blanche Sweet's second film for DeMille -- her first was The Warrens of Virginia. Mahmud, a young Turkish nobleman (a not very Turkish looking House Peters) is captured by the Montenegrins and handed over to Sonya Martinovich (Sweet) to work on her farm. She treats him hatefully, forcing him to toil and whipping him for the slightest infraction. But Sonya's little brother, Milos (Gerald Ward), befriends the Turk and slowly she begins to warm up to him, too. Turkish soldiers attack the village and their commanding officer tries to rape Sonya. Mahmud fights him off and the Montenegrins retake the village. At the war's end, Mahmud is stripped of his land because of his actions in protecting Sonya. Sonya, meanwhile, is tossed off her own land and her home burned. The two fugitives find each other on the road and are reunited in love. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi