CHILD BRIDE

Miss Carol (Diana Durrell) is an idealistic teacher in a remote one-room schoolhouse. A native of the Ozarks herself, she is determined to stop the practice of child marriage, in which older men marry teen or preteen girls. Her campaign raises the ire of some local men, led by Jake Bolby (Warner Richmond), who one night drags her into the woods and ties her to a tree, with the intention of tarring and feathering her. Before this can be done, however, Angelo the dwarf (Angelo Rossitto) and Mr. Colton (George Humphreys) arrive with a shotgun to save the day.

Following this, Jake Bolby comes across young Jennie Colton (Shirley Mills) swimming naked. When her father dies, Bolby decides to take advantage of the opportunity to blackmail her mother into letting him marry the girl, threatening that otherwise he will see her hanged for murder. After he "courts" Jennie by giving her a doll, the two are married. It later turns out that this ceremony was illegal, as child marriage had been banned several days prior, but this point quickly becomes moot. Before Bolby can consummate the union, he is gunned down by Angelo. Jennie leaves his house with Freddie Nulty (Bob Bollinger).

Jake Bolby is shot by Angelo before he can consummate his marriage to Jennie, and Jennie leaves with Freddie Nulty.

The film resolves its central threat by having Angelo intervene, preventing Bolby's predatory intentions from being realized. This ending serves both as a moral reckoning for the antagonist and a restoration of agency for Jennie, though it underscores the film’s exploitative gaze even as it attempts a form of justice.