Life — August 11, 1927 — page 12: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of "Virtue Rewarded" This page contains a theatrical play script titled "Virtue Rewarded — A Moral Drama of Modern Times," presented as a "Clean Comedies for Church and School" offering. The play satirizes class conflict and moral hypocrisy. Characters include Clarinda (a poor shopgirl), Jasper Bloodmore (a rich film magnate), John Limestone (a noble floorcaller), and a Store owner. The plot mocks how wealth and status supposedly determine virtue: Bloodmore offers Clarinda riches and stardom in exchange for becoming his mistress, while the poor but honest Limestone offers genuine love. The satire targets materialistic values in early cinema culture and suggests that "virtue" means resisting sexual coercion despite economic desperation. The script's inclusion in a church-endorsed comedy collection ironically highlights moral anxieties about modern entertainment and temptation.