Rudall Hayward was just 21 when he began making his first full-length silent movie, My Lady of the Cave. A wistful young clerk (Robert Ramsay, who later tried his luck in Hollywood) falls overboard on a boat trip and washes up on an island. He meets a mysterious woman (Hazel de Montalk) who appears to be a prisoner. The clerk enlists a friend to free his 'cave lady' from her jailer and they uncover a tragic story. As was common in silent movie days, different sections of the film are 'tinted' in various colours. Hayward was prolific; he made four features in the 1920s alone, including Māori-Pākehā drama Rewi's Last Stand.