Lights of Old Broadway

In the amorphous era of the late 19th century, Miss Davies plays two twins separated at birth. One is adopted by a hoity-toity family, while the other goes to a shanty life in the part of Manhattan that is now Sutton Place. This version of Miss Davies works in the chorus at Tony Pastor's theater. There she meets Conrad Nagel, who happens to be her twin's step-brother; they fall in love. But his father objects to her because she is a show girl, and a Catholic Irish one at that, while her father objects because He's a rowdydow, and it helps the plot.

It's another in the string of historical showpieces that Hearst produced for Miss Davies, with a battle between the forces of progress, as exemplified by Conrad Nagel, and the regressive forces by his father, played by Frank Currier. There's a lot of Oirish slapstick going on, with Miss Davies' dad, Charles McHugh, doing all his thinking with a brick in his hand.

Given that Miss Davies plays two roles, twins separated by birth, there might have been a parallel story for her sister, who is now Nagel's sister, but nothing is made of it.... although Nagel falling in love with a girl who looks exactly like his stepsister is likely to raise some eyebrows.

It's certainly not one of Miss Davies' better vehicles, but it's clearly aimed at a 1920s audience. Which is hardly surprising given when it was made.