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1914PrincessOne reelDrama

In the Conservatory

No copy you can watch online. No print is known to survive. What follows is what does: the release, the cast, the story, and what the trade press said at the time.

The story

“At a large dinner-dance given by Mrs. Ralph Schuyler, the hostess discovers that her jewels have been stolen. Suspicion points to the governess of her child, and the young woman is about to be arrested, when a well-dressed stranger comes forward, confesses to the theft, and produces the gems from his pocket. Another guest shows a police shield and, introducing himself as Sergeant Wilson, handcuffs the confessed thief and leads him away. On the street Wilson explains to his prisoner that he is himself a crook, whose game is to pose as a police-detective in order to help out other thieves. The next instant, the ‘prisoner’ springs forward, handcuffs snap, and Wilson finds that the tables have been turned. Blowing a police whistle, his captor summons help—and ‘Sergeant Wilson’ learns that not only may thieves masquerade as detectives, but that detectives may also pose as thieves; and that by turning against him his own weapons, the cleverest detective in the city has drawn him into a trap.”

Summary from Reel Life · 12 December 1914

What the papers said

2 reviews

“A very clever little play with an unusually original plot, which contains several dramatic ‘surprise’ situations. It deals with the ingenious manner in which a gentleman thief is trapped by the police, and is admirably acted by such finished and natural players as Boyd Marshall and Mayre Hall. We fancy, however, that in one or two places the significance of the action might be made just a trifle clearer.”

The Bioscope · 25 February 1915

“A society mystery, involving the theft and discovery of some stolen gems. The plot is particularly pleasing because it contains a good surprise feature, something difficult to achieve. This holds the attention well.”

The Moving Picture World · 26 December 1914

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Cast and crew

Cast
Boyd Marshall as the “prisoner”
Eldean Steuart as Mrs. Schuyler’s daughter
Ethyle Cooke as Mrs. Ralph Schuyler
Frank Wood as “Sergeant Wilson”
John Reinhard as bona fide detective
Mayre Hall as governess

Every name opens that person's page, with each film they appear in and which of them you can watch.

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More about this film

Bowers’ notes

Eldean Steuart appeared in some credits erroneously as “Elaine Stewart.”

From Volume II: Filmography of Q. David Bowers’ Thanhouser Films: An Encyclopedia and History, reproduced with permission and unchanged. Read the history of 1914 →

Cite as: Bowers, Q. David. Thanhouser Films: An Encyclopedia and History, “In the Conservatory”. thanhouser.org/films/in-the-conservatory/

Where a print is held

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