Volume II: Filmography

 

FINGER PRINTS OF FATE

 

January 26, 1915 (Tuesday)

Length: 2 reels (1,690 feet)

Character: Drama

Cast: Riley Chamberlin (William Gray), Harris Gordon (Morris Gray, his nephew), Florence LaBadie (Margaret Seymour), Sidney Bracy (the slayer), Arthur Bauer (his accomplice)

 

SYNOPSIS, Reel Life, January 23, 1915:

"William Gray, an aged scientist, is found dead in his library. His safe, which was known to have contained a large sum of money, has been rifled, and suspicions point to the scientist's favorite nephew, Morris Gray, who is found a few minutes later in the library, and who only a few hours before has been disinherited for making love to the uncle's secretary, Margaret Seymour. The young man, on arrest, has nothing to say for himself. The money is not found, but the police believe that it has been removed at some time previous to the murder, and that the slayer had returned to remove some traces of his crime. Margaret is the only person who contends that he is innocent. At the beginning, too, she had almost believed him guilty, for she had noticed a finger-mark on the side of the safe and had been almost convinced that it was Morris. Later, hiding in the room, she had seen him enter, find her glove and carefully remove it as though he would divert suspicion from herself. She reasoned then that he was not guilty, for in that event he would not have seemed to suspect her. It takes some clever detective work to clear up the case. But Margaret is a born detective, and at last she proves conclusively that the crime was committed by two men who have no connection with Morris Gray."

 

REVIEW, The Morning Telegraph, January 24, 1915:

"Margaret succeeds in proving her lover innocent of the crime of which she first thought him guilty. It takes considerable detective work, but she is a born detective and all ends well."

 

REVIEW, The Moving Picture World, February 6, 1915:

"A two-part melodrama with a surprise at the end made by a rather arbitrary twist given to the action. Its heroine is the rich man's stenographer; the hero, his secretary and her fiancé. The villain is a rich man's nephew, but the real thief is the butler, who had kept in the background through the early scenes. It has pretty scenes; it is well acted and, on the whole, a very fair offering."

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Copyright © 1995 Q. David Bowers. All Rights Reserved.