From IMDb: ""Inspired by a statue of the infant Christ in the hands of the Madonna, Berenice, who lives in a convent in Naples, Italy, conceives of a deep passion for babies. Learning that there are infants dying of hunger and neglect in America, Berenice determines to come to their aid. Dressed as a boy, she arrives in New York, where destitute Berenice meets artist Robert who hires her to pose for a painting of the Madonna. The two fall in love until one day, during Robert's absence, his wife appears and drives Berenice into the streets. Berenice's trials finally end when Rlobert's wife dies in an automobile accident, freeing robert to marry his model."
This is supposed to be uplifting, but it appears tres mereticious and morally bankrupt to me.
No matter. Berenice is played by Anita Stewart, whose 113 IDMb credits start in 1913 and go through to 1928, with a few minor appearsance in the early 30s. She 'remained a major draw card with movie audiences throughout the 1920s. She retired in 1928 with the advent of sound as one of the wealthiest women in Hollywood." She was also a producer with 17 silents to her credit, including The human Desire.
Taking the role of Robert was Conway Tearle (Bucking the Tiger, The Mystic, of Forgotten Women), a popular leading man who (on-screen anyway) wooed many of the screen's leading femmes during the silent era and beyond, including Marguerite Clark, Mary Pickford, Norma Talmadgge, and Clara Bow; in his last major role, he was rejected by Mae West in Klondike Annie.
Eulalie Jenson, who began her career with Thomas Edison in 1914 and was a leading actress in the silent era (The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Bachelor Brides, Passion Flower), played Robert's wife. She did transition to talkies, but little success and gained mainly iuncredited roles.
Also in the cast were Vernon Steele (who would become better known as the future oater star Bob Steele), Naomi Childers, Templar Saxe, and Hattie Delaro.
Director Wilfred North was a successful stage actor, director, and producer before joining Vitagraph Pictures in 1913, helming 31 shorts in that year alone, including at least seven starring Vitagraph's leading comedy ster John Bunny. Among his other films were The Kid (1916), Son of Wallingford (1921), and Captain Blood (1924). He retired from directing in 19the mid-Twenties, but stayed in the business as an actor until his death in 1935 at age 72.
The film was scripted by Edward J. Montagne, who has been credited (23 years after his death!) as the creator of I Spy. Montagne's credits include Rupert of Henzau, The Cop and the Anthem, and The Cat and the Canary. The script was based on Violet Irwin's 1913 novel. I know nothing about Irwin except that she probably co-authored, with Vilhjalmur Steffansson, the juvenile novel Kak, the Copper Eskimo.
As you can tell. I'm not really a fan of The Human Desire (I glommed onto it solely because of Bob Steele), but your mileage may vary. Let's see.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWhTbVSSDRA
"Conveniently, my churlish wife of some-teen years is gone--no time to fret now we can marry, and I'm sure I'll find someone when I tire of you!"
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