The Cup of Life (1915 film)

The Cup of Life is a 1915 American silent drama starring Bessie Barriscale. It was directed by Thomas Ince and Raymond B. West with a scenario written by C. Gardner Sullivan and Ince.

Though Thomas Ince produced both films, this film is unrelated to The Cup of Life (1921). It is about the lives of two women who choose separate paths. It is extant.

Plot summary
As described in contemporary film magazines, sisters Helen and Ruth Fiske are living a humble life on their department-store salaries. Helen dreams of an easy life of luxury and Ruth dreams of a simple, but contended domestic life. Helen takes up with the wealthy John Ward, despite Ruth's doubts. Ruth marries a man of modest means and they build a solid household. Helen begins circulating among men of the monied class.

After some years, Ruth is now a mother and runs a happy household. Helen has been abroad, but her position in high society is waning as she ages. Helen returns to America to win back a former suitor, James Kellerman, but he has moved on to a younger, less jaded woman. The sisters are reunited, but seeing her sister's dream fulfilled depresses Helen further and she proceeds further down a path of dissipation.

Cast

 * Bessie Barriscale as Helen Fiske
 * Enid Markey as Ruth Fiske
 * Charles Ray as John Ward
 * Frank Borzage as Dick Ralston
 * Arthur Maude as Jack Jordan
 * J. Barney Sherry as James Kellerman
 * Louise Glaum as Irene Bullard
 * Harry Keenan as John Standing
 * Howard Hickman as Higsby
 * Jerome Storm as Sam Dugan, credited as Jerry Storm

Preservation
Complete prints of The Cup of Life are held by the Library of Congress and the Cineteca Del Friuli in Gemona.