The Forester's Plea

Henry Carter is a forester who battles a single demon that keeps him from living right drinking. He tries hard to quit, but the urge creeps back again, and the shadow falls over his work and over Agnes, his daughter, who watches with growing fear. The frontier world around them becomes a harsh stage for a private war that threatens to pull the family apart. When Reverend Small steps in, offering a path to sobriety through a sanitarium program, Carter sees a glimmer of hope. He agrees to give the remedy a real chance, hoping to mend his ways and restore faith at home. Hope flickers even as dangers loom beyond the hills.

Released in 1911, The Forester's Plea is directed by Gilbert M. Anderson who also appears as Rev. Small; the compact Western showcases his early screen presence and fits the period's preference for moral frontier stories that blend danger with reform.

Box office data for this title is not documented and no widely circulated grosses survive from 1911. As a short feature from the silent era, it likely played as part of a program rather than as a standalone hit.

There are no widely documented awards for this film. In 1911 the industry rarely tracked recognitions the way later decades did, and many programs listed titles rather than nominating them. The lack of formal prizes today reflects the era's evolving industry practices.

The story raises themes that would echo in later temperance narratives, placing responsibility on both individual choice and community support. With Rev Small as a moral anchor and a devoted daughter watching the trouble unfold, the film implies that recovery is possible through credible treatment and renewed family trust. Although the specifics of reception are not well documented, the portrait of restraint and reform fits early 20th century Western attitudes toward frontier morality.