Open ClassicCINEMA
Back to the collection

OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 563

Through the Back Door

192189 minUnited States
ComedyDrama
Video edition
YouTube
Original language
No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: English.
This copy runs
88:29
Subtitles
No subtitle track in this language

Languages and subtitles

No subtitle track in this language

YouTube may apply your personal preferences. If needed, select your language under CC / Settings. YouTube controls playback availability, which may vary by region.

Synopsis

A woman moving to America leaves her daughter with a Belgian servant, expecting the separation to be temporary. The servant grows attached to the child and later claims that she has died. War eventually sends the girl across the Atlantic, where finding her mother requires entering a household that no longer expects her to exist.

Cast

DirectorsAlfred E. GreenJack Pickford

Historical context

Mary Pickford's character moves from prewar Belgium to an American household shaped by a false report of her death. The story combines the disruptions of migration and war with the actress's familiar theme of a child making adults reconsider their choices.

Sources and availability

General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.

Wikipedia — film referenceDuke Center for the Study of the Public Domain — US term reference

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

The reference concerns the original work. Restorations, colorization, translations and other territories may have different conditions. This site uses the player enabled by the channel.

Availability checked on September 10, 2026.

Photograph credit

Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.

Audience rating

Loading ratings…

Keep exploring

Collection