“Children Not Wanted” is a 1920 silent movie directed by Paul Scardon and written by Arthur Stuart Sinclair. The film stars Edith Day as Dorothy Crane, Ruth Sullivan as Betty Marsh, and Joe King. The story follows Dorothy Crane, an orphan, who takes responsibility for her best friend’s four-year-old daughter, Betty, after her friend’s death. Unwelcome in her aunt and uncle’s home, Dorothy and Betty move to New York City, where they face challenges finding housing because landlords refuse to rent to women with children. Eventually, they find shelter with a kind landlady, Mrs. Farley, and Dorothy secures work as a receptionist for a gem dealer, Marcus Hazzard. As Dorothy falls in love with Robert Barrington, played by Joe King, Hazzard becomes infatuated with her, stirring jealousy in his business partner, Madame Duval. The drama escalates when Hazzard is shot, and Betty is found near the smoking gun. Believing the child to be responsible, Dorothy flees with her. Madame Duval, out of jealousy, frames Dorothy for the murder, but her servant, Ali Bey, ultimately reveals that Duval was the real shooter. This revelation clears Dorothy’s name, allowing her to pursue a happy future with Barrington.