- In her third picture, Bara is the wife-vampire.
- Iza's sinister beauty and its effect on the lives of two men form the main plot of "The Clemenceau Case." She casts off her husband Pierre. Constantin Ritz leaves with his career as a talented sculptor blasted. In turn she toys with Ritz, but Pierre saves Ritz against himself. He allows himself, apparently, to fall once more under Iza's spell. As she presses her false lips to Pierre's he stabs her to the heart just as Ritz enters. "I have saved you for your wife," says Pierre calmly as he telephones for the police.—Moving Picture World synopsis
- We see a poor room, a cradle with a baby in it. The mother pleading with the father of the baby. He abuses her in his drunken rage and flatly refuses to marry her, leaves the room slamming the door in her face while she kneels at the baby's side and takes it in her arms. The baby is Pierre Clemenceau. The second episode of the picture is eight or ten years later. Pierre is now a boy and comes home one day and asks his mother about his father. Tho mother now realizes that the boy has grown to the age where she must hide from him the fact that he is illegitimate. She takes him to a boarding school where the kindly school master accepts him. She bids him farewell and we now see school life with the boy happy among his companions. Andre and Pierre are playing together and they go up to the home of Andre's family and it is there that the mother says to her son, "You must not play with little Pierre Clemenceau." "Why not?", says Andre, "He has no father", says the mother. In Paris, Andre now comes to the same boarding school where Pierre has been and when Andre sees him for the first time he tells the other school boys that there is some mystery surrounding his birth and the whole school turns against poor Pierre. One day, Pierre finds out who spread the story, calls him to account, is jeered at by Andre and we see a corking school boy's fight. Andre turns coward and runs away from the crowd of school boys and one little fellow steps forward and puts out his hand to Pierre and says "My name is Constatain Ritz, I do not know anything about you but I like you and I will be your friend." Pierre's mother makes lace for a living. The holidays come and Pierre has been unhappy at school. Ritz asks him to come to Paris to his home. Pierre and his mother, with Ritz, leave for Ritz's home. Row we see the studio for the first time. The studio of the elder Ritz. The two little boys roam from the studio and little Pierre is struck with the beauty of a certain statue, takes some clay and naturally starts to model. Soon the elder Ritz enters, sees what he has done, is struck with his genius and asks his mother if she will apprentice the boy to him. The mother agrees, and we pass on to ten years later. The elder Ritz gives a model studio party to which all the models and artists are invited. There is violin playing, singing, drinking and piano playing and the true Bohemian atmosphere of a French sculptor's studio. Now we see Iza and her mother, the Countess Debronowska. Iza is a model. They are living from hand to mouth. She has an invitation for herself and daughter to, the Ritz studio. To this party also comes a Russian, Serguis by name. Pierre's mother is also at the party. Between these two women there is a marked contrast. One is all we love to believe a mother is and should be, and the other a designing, clever, sensuous woman. We cannot bring out this contrast too strongly. We have a lot of fun in the studio until Iza gets tired, goes to a cozy corner and there lies down in a beautiful, restful pose. This girl is full-blooded, beautiful, young, shapely and passionate. There must be another room in the studio to come back to. Pierre and Ritz are having their share of fun and Pierre comes in the other room and his eyes light upon the beautiful young girl. He asks her if he may model a bust of her. This model dresses herself up and a thing of bodily beauty becomes a mental degenerate. She tries to flirt with the artist but we make it clear to our audience that his whole heart is wrapped up in his art. Riveting to the sleeping girl. We see Pierre start to sketch her. The crowd comes laughingly into the studio. Pierre makes them keep quiet until he finishes his sketch. The girl slowly awakens, looks at the sketch, "Am I as beautiful as that?" - and from that moment the bond of art and passion unites them. Ritz feels for his friend as does the mother of Pierre but the mother of Iza will have her daughter marry no such small person as a sculptor. Serguis is there and he lays his eyes upon the beautiful girl and we make a close up of his thoughts. He takes the mother aside, gives her his arms, says to her, "I am going to Marseilles, bring your daughter to me, there." The Countess sees an opportunity where she can live a life of wealth at her daughter's shame and she lays her plans. Iza has met Serguis, and, as with other men, is coquettish with him. She also wants a life of luxury and ease. Pierre, however, tells the girl he must see her again. She tells him to come to her apartment. Pierre comes to her apartment. There we have a scene of real love. It is interrupted by the mother and in a strong scene the mother tells her daughter she has chosen Serguis as her husband. Pierre has made arrangements for Iza to come to his studio and sit as "Innocence" and there they court each other for a few days until the time comes when Iza breaks the news to Pierre that she is going to Marseilles to be married to the Grand Duke. She bids him farewell and as a final gift he gives her the model "Innocence" . The mother comes in and raves about it and takes it away with her. They go to the South. Iza now gives herself wholly to Serguis and when the time comes to marry her, he refuses. Pierre, meanwhile, has been pining for her and begs her not to marry this man. When Serguis refuses, in a terribly dramatic scene, she leaves him and it is firmly established that she has been his mistress. Pierre is now in his studio and Iza enters, throws her arms around him and says "I am ready to be married." The news is broken by Pierre to his mother and his old friend Ritz and Ritz's kindly father. Pierre's mother fears for the future. Ritz sees the Vampire in the woman and advises his old friend against the marriage but Pierre does not heed either of them. He rushes to his girl and he marries her. He worships her. Serguis did not realize how much he loved Iza. He looks at her bust occasionally and he appeals to the mother to try and bring them together again. The mother and Serguis come up to Pairs. He settles in his beautiful apartment and the mother one day persuades her daughter to visit Serguis and the liaison commences again. Pierre's mother on day, in some way, learns the truth. She warns her boy but he is so blindly in love that she does not want to spoil things. She sees the life of deceit her daughter-in-law is living. She is insulted by the Countess, and later becomes ill and just as she is about to tell her son the truth , Iza enters and she dies in her son's arms. Iza hypocritically sympathizes. So the beautiful mother dies without speaking. Iza and her liaison with Serguis continues but one day they come face to face with Ritz. Iza realizes that Ritz may tell her husband and to throw Pierre off the track concocts a letter with the help of her mother. "Watch your wife. She is false to you. Follow her any day." This handed and received by Pierre who opens it. He cannot believe it and that afternoon his wife comes in the room dressed in mourning with flowers in her arms, kisses him and goes out. He follows her, sees her go in a cemetery. He hides behind a tree and there he sees his wife kneeling beside the grave of his mother. He believes in her implicitly and rushes back to the home. A few moments later Iza enters. He takes her in his arms, shows her the note, falls on his knees and begs her forgiveness. Iza goes to her mother and tells her what has happened and repeats the remark her husband made to her, "Whenever you go out in mourning again, I will never suspect you." One day Iza and Serguis are caught by Ritz and he goes to his old friend Pierre to tell him. Pierre cannot believe it, goes to question his wife, does question her and sees her hide a letter which she has started to write. He now acts the hypocrite, pretends to believe in her and when she has gone takes the letter, reads it and learns the truth. He rushes out of the house and goes to the home of Serguis and the first thing that meets his eyes is the bust he made a few years ago. When he sees the bust he smashes it to pieces. Serguis's man-servant announces to him that there is a man in the library. Serguis enters, sees the broken pieces, he looks at Pierre and asks him what it means and Pierre smashes him across the face with his open hand. Cards are exchanged, a duel is arranged. Pierre goes back to his wife and turns her from his house, mother bag and baggage. Iza goes to Serguis, although she has just left Pierre, sobbing, acting of course. She wishes him luck in the duel. Serguis bids her farewell - handing her a sealed envelope to be opened after his death, should he be killed. He leaves. We see the duel, we see Serguis killed, we see him ask forgiveness and dying, as he does. Pierre forgives him. The news is brought to Iza who sheds a few more crocodile tears. She opens the sealed envelope and with great joy finds that Serguis has left her every penny he had in the world. Pierre returns to his studio, a completely broken man. He cannot work. Sometimes murder comes into his heart. His wife, with her mother, leave for America. She establishes herself in a magnificent apartment, entertains lavishly, and has more liaisons. Time passes. Ritz meanwhile married a charming young blonde, not of any special strength of character, but an excellent wife and she becomes a devoted mother to her little child who is about two or three years old as our story ends, They visit Pierre at his studio. A few minutes after some art critics visit Pierre and ridicule his latest work. They say he has lost his power and go he has. The lines on his face have become hard and the spirit of revenge is moldering in his breast. He cannot work, he tries to but cannot. In Rita's little child, however, he finds solace. He worships this little girl, but the moment she is gone his life becomes more empty. Ritz receives an offer to take charge of a mercantile establishment in New York. He shows the letter to his old chum Pierre, begs him to go West with him and the happy little family. They go west and settle in a pretty little suburb in New York With a glorious little home. But with the exception of his great love for little Jane, he has no ambition in life. Ritz does splendidly in the city and one day a friend of his says, "let's go to Rector's and get a little drink" - "with pleasure", says Ritz, and they do. "Oh," says Ritz's friend, "there's a girl over there I went you to meet. She's stunning." Ritz says, "I do not do it as a general rule, but I don't mind this once," and they go over to the table. Ritz comes face to face with Iza and before he quite realizes it she has cast her spell over him. "Come up and see me sometimes," she says. Ritz goes home but he cannot get his mind off Iza and to her surprise one night he does call on her and makes a fool of himself. Then things at home are altogether different. He domes home late and his wife cannot understand, nor can Pierre. Pierre decides to find out and goes to the city. He catches him putting a woman into a taxi, he questions him, the man turns white, does not tell him who she is and lies out of it. Pierre determines to put an end to it for the sake of the noble little wife end Jane. He finds out in some way they they are to meet in a restaurant, goes to the same place, sees the woman from the back, walks up to the table and comes face to face with his former wife. He, however, determines to save his old friend and he plans and plans. There is only one way, he thinks. "I will make her fall in love with me. I will make my wife my mistress." He sends her flowers and one day makes his point. Iza bets Pierre to come to her apartment the following night. The vision of the little country home all but completely broken weight upon his mind. He tells Ritz that he is wrecking his own life. Ritz says, "Oh, no, she is a changed women, she is all that is good and noble." "Very well, then," says Pierre, "at twelve o'clock tonight, place your latch key in the door of her apartment and I will show you this woman in another man's arms." She is not fit to live, he thinks to himself and he goes to her apartment that night at about ten o'clock. Ritz has given his word that not until twelve will he appear. Iza is dressed for the occasion, burns incense, she has made her place so charming that she feels that nothing will prevent her from winning her husband. She is dressed in a negligee and Pierre pretends to be so smitten with her that he says, "let us go back five years and let me sketch you just as I did then. Then, it was "Innocence." She takes an Egyptian drapery and winds it about her form so that it clings to her. She coils a snake around her. Pierre starts to sketch. Ritz is looking at his watch. Pierre continues sketching, Ritz continues looking at his watch. The &etch is nearly finished. It is nearly mid-night. Pierre shows Iza the nearly finished sketch. "Magnificent" she says, "kiss me." Pierre does so. It is within the minute of midnight. Ritz is now walking up the steps of the apartment. "Kiss me again," she says, "love me". She throws herself into Pierre's arms. From the hanging draperies of a cozy corner, with his left hand, Pierre takes an oriental dagger, draws her to his breast, with his right arm around her body. With his left hand he places the dagger through her heart and as he kisses her for the second time, plunges the dagger into her heart. At that second Ritz opens the door. Pierre is holding her body in his arms. He looks over his shoulder and says to his old friend, "I told you you would find her in another man's arms." Her lifeless body drops on the couch. Pierre rises, goes to the telephone, calls up police headquarters and says, "Send your man to this apartment. I have just murdered my wife. " Ritz stands gazing at the dead body. -Pierre rises from the phone, places both his hands on his friend's shoulders, and says "I told you you were wrong. Go home." He gently takes him to the door and shuts it after him, goes to the table.lights a cigarette and taking up the sketch writes the one word "SIN" on the bottom of it. A lapse of fifteen minutes. We see a detective enter and place Pierre under arrest. We cut to the little country home. The child is asleep in its mothers arms. Ritz enters, falls to his knees and begs forgiveness. The picture ends.
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