The Spirit of the Poppy (1914)

• Drama

A psychological study of the effects of drug addiction on humanity. Helene Ford has been injected with heroin by an unscrupulous physician, causing her to act irrationally. Her husband Stephen, a noted artist, hires a model whom Helene, inflamed by their friend Jack Murray, suspects of having an affair with Stephen. The model is also addicted to drugs and convinces Stephen to try heroin to forget his troubles. Both Stephen and Helene then become addicted to drugs. They abandon their home and then separate, after which Stephen resorts to crime to support his heroin addiction. During an escape from the police after a robbery, Stephen encounters Helene again, this time near death. She sacrifices her own life to shield her husband, but Stephen and his former model plunge to their deaths.

Release date

November 23, 1914

Runtime

1h 00m

Language

English

Director

Frederick A. Thomson

Status

Released