Less Than the Dust
Less than the Dust is a 1916 American silent feature film produced by and starring Mary Pickford with a release by Artcraft Pictures, an affiliate of Paramount Pictures. John Emerson directed and Eric von Stroheim was one of the assistant directors. There is a 35mm copy of this film that still survives.

The film was released on 6 November 1916.

Plot 
Radha is a lower-caste Hindu orphan girl, raised by Ramlan, a sword maker. Radha is taught English in the street by a religious character. Witnessing the scene, a British officer, Captain Townsend, offers her a book Less Than the Dust, and Other Indian Love Lyrics; he soon returns to England. Ramlan reveals to Radha that her father was in fact British, a certain Captain Brooke, who died of an opium overdose. Radha goes to England to claim her  inheritance: it so happens that her grandfather is also Townsend's uncle and that he just died. Townsend soon marries Radha.

Cast

Mary Pickford - Radha
David Powell - Capt. Richard Townsend
Frank Losee - Capt. Bradshaw
Mary Alden - Mrs. Bradshaw
Mario Majeroni - Ramlan
Cesare Gravina - Jawan
Francis Joyner - A Derelict
Russell Bassett - Ahmed
Walter Morgan - Bhesstie
Merceita Esmond - A Gossip (*as Mercita Esmonde)
Nathaniel Sack - Undetermined Role
Frank Lackteen - (*unbilled)

Reception 
The Moving Picture World saluted Pickford's return to the screen after a few months hiatus.

References

External links

 allmovie/synopsis; Less Than the Dust

1916 films
1916 drama films
Silent American drama films
American silent feature films
American black-and-white films
Films directed by John Emerson
1910s American films
1910s English-language films
Films set in India
Films set in the British Raj