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A Mormon Maid

Name: A Mormon Maid
Director: Robert Z. Leonard
Released: 1917
Duration: 68 min

Representation Score

4.6/10

Fair

1917

Director

Robert Z. Leonard

Runtime

68 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

A Mormon Maid serves as a critical examination of Mormon society. It uses the melodrama of the 1840s westward migration to question the morality of Mormonism, particularly focusing on polygamy. The film highlights the importance of women's ability to drive the story and challenges traditional religious institutions. However, it remains constrained by the limited racial stereotypes of its time. Overall, the work explores the tension between individual morality and systemic oppression, though it lacks contemporary multi-layered complexity.

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Category Breakdown

Does A Mormon Maid have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film does not include any LGBTQ+ characters or narratives. Social interactions focus solely on heterosexual relationships and conflicts within them.

How does A Mormon Maid portray gender?

Fair

The narrative emphasizes the emotional and moral leadership of female characters. Dora and her mother play key roles in making decisions against patriarchal control.

How racially and ethnically diverse is A Mormon Maid?

Limited

Indigenous characters serve as catalysts for an initial attack. They are portrayed as external threats rather than as nuanced individuals with their own choices.

How does A Mormon Maid represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The film questions religious institutions by depicting polygamy as a source of corruption. It challenges the sanctity of traditional religious structures.

Does A Mormon Maid include disability representation?

Minimal

There is no representation of physical or mental disabilities in the film.

Present on Screen

Highlights the role of women's ability to drive the story and bodily autonomy against patriarchal control.
Challenges traditional religious institutions through the lens of polygamy.
Employs melodrama to critique systemic corruption and moral decay.

Limited or Absent

Depicts Indigenous characters using limited, non-nuanced stereotypes.
Lacks any LGBTQ+ representation or non-straight/cisgender identities.
Does not offer depth to characters outside the central white protagonists.

Official Synopsis

This silent melodrama is set against the 1840s westward migration of the Mormons. Dora, a young woman, and her family are saved from an Indian attack by a Mormon community traveling to Utah. They join the wagon train. Dora is pursued by two men, one a recent convert, the other a scheming elder with a stable of wives. The Mormon elder wants her in his harem. When the mother kills herself from revulsion toward polygamy, the daughter must consider her own future and the man she loves. One of Mae Murray's few surviving films, this was intended by Robert Leonard to be a thoughtful drama about the goods and evils of Mormonism, but today it is generally considered pure anti-Mormon propaganda.

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