The Infamous Miss Revell (1921)

Twin sisters Julien and Paula Revell, compelled to support their younger brothers and sisters after their father's death, are unable to get a booking for their musical act, and Julien accepts the "protection" of a man of wealth in return for a home for her family. When her protector dies, she inherits his fortune for her lifetime or until she marries. Max Hildreth, an underpaid teacher, and his sister Lillian, a clerk in a store, are hired to teach the Revell children. Lillian urges Max to marry the heiress to get possession of her fortune, but Max--though he has fallen in love with Julien--hesitates to declare himself. It appears that Julien's infamous past stands between them until it is revealed that Julien died shortly after her protector died and that the girl with whom Max is in love is actually Paula.