Lost1914PrincessOne reelDrama

The Balance of Power

Name: The Balance of Power
Genre: Drama
Released: 1914-10-02

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

“The president of a large manufacturing company dies, and in his will asks his son to take his place as the head of the corporation. The executor of the will is the vice-president of the concern, who, young Davis discovers, is scheming to get control of the company and become president himself. The balance of power is held by Ruben Sampson, to whom Davis appeals. But Sampson, who has had a long standing feud with the older Davis, will not come to the rescue. Then Ruth steps in. At the risk of her own life she shows Sampson what the Davis blood is good for, and the old man gives her brother his support in the election.”

Summary from Reel Life · 26 September 1914

What the papers said

2 reviews

Read in full · 1 min

“The average American probably possesses a fuller knowledge and interest in financial and company matters than the average Englishman; which, doubtless, is the reason why such affairs figure so frequently as the subject matter of American picture plays. Although any play of this kind is at a certain disadvantage with an English audience, it would be a pity if so excellent a film as the present should suffer unduly on this account. As a matter of fact, although its plot is based upon a peculiar episode in the history of a public company, the real interest of the picture depends mainly upon an effective dramatic chase and pretty little love story. It is admirably acted and, to our mind, is a first-rate playlet.”

The Bioscope · 14 January 1915

“A business story, in which the vice-president of the company tries to advance himself to the presidency instead of the son of the former president. The girl gets some votes at the last minute which save the day for his son. The rescue of the girl from drowning was the strongest feature of this rather conventional story.”

The Moving Picture World · 17 October 1914

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Cast and crew

Director: Arthur Ellery
Cast: Boyd Marshall as George Davis
: Frances Keyes as Ruben’s wife
: May Dunne as their maid
: Morgan Jones as Ruben Sampson
: Irene Farrington as Ruth, George’s sister
Writer: Philip Lonergan

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More about this film

Bowers’ notes: The release date was originally scheduled as September 25, 1914. The date was later revised to October 2, 1914, but the uncorrected earlier schedule appeared in certain listings in The New York Dramatic Mirror, The Moving Picture World, and elsewhere. 2. The Moving Picture World, issue of September 26, 1914, gives the following cast listing for The Balance of Power: Boyd Marshall, Reenie Farrington, Marie Rainford (the mother), Morgan Jones (the father). However, it is believed that the cast listing for The Final Test was copied in error.

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, “The Balance of Power”. thanhouser.org/films/the-balance-of-power/

Where a print is held

Held by: No print known