Sparrows (Silent)

Hidden deep in the Southern swamps, the Grimes family operates a "baby farm" where unwanted or "lost" children are cruelly underfed and overworked. Mama Mollie (Pickford) the oldest of the kids, protects the others as best she can and keeps up their courage by telling them that God watches over them just as He does the smallest sparrow. When the police close in to rescue a kidnapped two-year-old who has been stashed at the farm, Grimes makes plans to throw the toddler into the bog. To save her little sparrows, Mama Mollie leads them on an escape through the alligator-infested swamp in one of the most harrowing scenes in cinema history. This powerful Gothic suspense thriller was based on 1920s news reports of real-life baby farms. Sparrows' elaborate sets and magnificent cinematography create a nightmare world that later inspired the classic film The Night Of The Hunter.