Plot
The movie begins with Laurie being reprimanded by her Aunt Nora and Chris being beaten by his adoptive father, Corson. Laurie goes to help Chris bandage his hand and tells him of her plans to leave the Limberlost swamp. Nora blames Laurie for her mother’s death and does not want her to leave the swamp. Laurie runs away into the swamp, where she meets Wayne, a charming aspiring lawyer. She shows him her collection of butterflies and moths, along with her animal friends. After he leaves, Laurie helps Mrs. Parker, a wealthy author from town, who buys one of her butterflies and invites Laurie to tea in town.
After Mrs. Parker leaves, Nora sends Laurie to the general store to buy soap with the money she earned from selling butterflies. While there, Laurie encounters Corson, who announces that he is looking for a new wife after his last one died. After Laurie leaves, the shop owners discuss how Nora is hard on Laurie because her mother married the man Nora loved. They decide to bring Laurie to a festival in town.
At the festival, Laurie runs into Mrs. Parker and Wayne again. The townspeople, including Wayne’s father, mock Laurie while she and Wayne start to dance. A man intentionally trips her, and Wayne punches him when he laughs at her. Mrs. Parker then takes Laurie back to her house to look at her butterfly collection.
Back at the swamp, Wayne and Laurie kiss, but upon returning home, Nora tells her she must marry Corson because he promised to eliminate their mortgage if Laurie marries him. Laurie, distressed, runs to the shopkeeper’s house, where they plan to help her escape the arrangement. Nora reveals that Laurie’s mother also wanted to leave the swamp but was left penniless by her husband, which led to her suicide. Nora threatens to expose Laurie’s mother’s past if Laurie doesn’t marry Corson, so Laurie reluctantly agrees.
At the wedding, Corson tries to cheer up the unenthusiastic guests. Chris goes to the barn with a gun, waiting for Corson. Corson grabs the gun, which discharges and kills him. Chris is arrested and jailed for the murder. Laurie visits Mrs. Parker to sell the rest of her butterfly collection to hire Wayne to represent Chris. Wayne’s father tries to dissuade him from taking the case, not wanting his son to represent a "swamper."
At the trial, the prosecuting lawyer questions Laurie aggressively, but Wayne does not object. When it’s his turn, Wayne gets Nora to admit she tricked Laurie into marrying Corson by lying about Laurie’s parents. Wayne then calls Chris to the stand an
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