The Beloved Bachelor

Michael Morda, a burgeoning San Francisco sculptor, is utterly besotted with Elinor Hunter as they anticipate marriage. Jealousy flares when Elinor suspects Julie Stressman, an old friend of Michael and one of his models. Reluctantly, Michael asks Julie to stay away from his studio. The two agree to meet only at the construction site where Michael is shaping a sculpture for which Julie models. When Elinor arrives at the site as well, Julie exits to avoid confrontation, but a fatal accident of falling materials claims her life. In her final moments, Julie begs Michael to adopt her daughter Mitzi, whose father had died years before. To shield Mitzi from an orphanage, Michael lies that he is her father. Elinor overhears the lie and, without asking questions, leaves him and marries another man that very night.