| The Dark Mirror | |
| Director: | Charles Giblyn |
| Producer: | Thomas H. Ince |
| Screenplay: | E. Magnus Ingleton |
| Starring: | Dorothy Dalton Huntley Gordon Walter D. Nealand Jessie Arnold Lucille Carney Pedro de Cordoba Donald MacPherson |
| Cinematography: | John Stumar |
| Studio: | Famous Players–Lasky Corporation |
| Distributor: | Paramount Pictures |
| Runtime: | 50 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | Silent (English intertitles) |
The Dark Mirror is a 1920 American silent horror-drama film and horror film directed by Charles Giblyn and written by E. Magnus Ingleton, based upon the story of the same name by Louis Joseph Vance. The film stars Dorothy Dalton in a dual role, Huntley Gordon, Walter D. Nealand, Jessie Arnold, Lucille Carney, Pedro de Cordoba, and Donald MacPherson. The film was released on May 9, 1920, by Paramount Pictures.[1] [2] It is listed as Jericho in some film reference guides.[3] The film survives.[4] [5]
As described in a film magazine,[6] New York society member Priscilla Maine (Dalton) is troubled by strange dreams in which she vividly sees members of the underworld involved in a murder. She confides this to her admirer, Dr. Philip Fosdick (Gordon), who undertakes to solve the mystery. As if to make her dreams come true, a gang of thugs mistakes her for Nora, a belle of the Bowery, and kidnaps her. Nora (Dalton) is known to be gangster Red Carnahan's (Nealand) girl, but is loved by the Spaniard, Mario Gonzales (de Cordoba). Mario rescues Nora from Red's clutches, marries her, and brings her to New Jersey. Red and his gang search for them, and when Red discovers the real Nora, he drowns her. Priscilla is rescued by Mario, who thinks she is his wife Nora, not realizing that Nora has been murdered. Dr. Fosdick is attempting to explain the true circumstances to Mario at his New Jersey retreat when Priscilla looks out the window and sees Red Carnahan on the shore of a nearby lake. She rushes out just as Red is drawing a woman's dead body from the water. Red is horrified to see Priscilla, an exact counterpart of the dead Nora, and drowns himself in superstitious terror. It turns out that Priscilla's father had married a gypsy woman with whom he had two twin daughters, Nora and Priscilla, and Nora was taken away by the gypsy when she ran away one day. The mystery resolved, Priscilla consents to wed Dr. Fosdick.