The Silver Slave

The Silver Slave is a lost^[1][2] 1927 synchronized sound film drama directed by Howard Bretherton and starring Irene Rich. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the Vitaphone sound-on-disc process. The film was produced and distributed by the Warner Brothers.^[3] however there is no spoken dialogue.

Bernice Randall (Irene Rich), once in love with Tom Richards (Holmes Herbert), sacrificed romance for wealth by marrying into money. Years later, widowed and wealthy, Bernice still longs for the life she might have had. When Tom proposes again, she refuses—not out of greed, but to protect her daughter Janet’s (Audrey Ferris) inheritance. Tom, misunderstanding her motives, bitterly accuses Bernice of being a "silver slave," chained to riches over love.

Devoted to Janet, Bernice pours her fortune into giving the girl all the luxuries she was once denied. But her generosity fosters a spoiled, self-centered flapper. Janet, now a debutante, lives a dazzling social life that quickly burns through her mother’s wealth.

At a summer resort, Janet rejects the sincere devotion of Larry Martin (Carroll Nye), her humble childhood friend, in favor of the debonair and affluent Philip Caldwell (John Miljan). Though Bernice pleads with Janet to see Larry’s genuine worth, the girl is intoxicated by Philip’s charm and status.

Growing alarmed, Bernice makes a bold and desperate decision: she will lure Caldwell away from her daughter by pretending to fall for him herself. Her former sweetheart, Tom—now a millionaire—arrives at the resort just in time to witness Bernice’s apparent descent back into gold-digging. At a lavish dinner dance, she flirts openly with Philip, who invites her on a moonlit drive to his cottage. She accepts.

Janet, stunned and wounded by her mother’s behavior, convinces Tom to follow them. At Philip’s cottage, they find Bernice in his arms. Heartbroken, Janet flees. Bernice chases after her, leaving Tom and Caldwell behind.

Back at the hotel, Janet is packing to leave when Tom arrives and tells her the truth: Bernice’s flirtation was a ruse to protect her daughter. She had pleaded with Caldwell to give Janet up. Overwhelmed with guilt, Janet rushes out into the hotel grounds—and runs straight into Larry. Hearing her story, Larry realizes that gentleness won’t reach her now. He commands her to go to her mother and ask for forgiveness.

Janet returns to Bernice, penitent. Her mother embraces her with quiet wisdom: “I didn’t want my little daughter to make the same mistake I did. Larry is poor, but his love will mean your happiness.”

And so, the woman once accused of being a "silver slave" redeems herself with the selfless act of guiding her daughter to true love—proving that the richest gifts come not from money, but from sacrifice.

• Irene Rich as Bernice Randall
• Audrey Ferris as Janet Randall
• Holmes Herbert as Tom Richards
• John Miljan as Philip Caldwell
• Carroll Nye as Larry Martin

• List of early sound feature films (1926–1929)

• The Silver Slave at IMDb