Crime's Triangle (1915)
John Small, assistant cashier of the Third National Bank, is married to an extravagant wife, whose only relative is a brother addicted to gambling. The story opens with John remonstrating with his wife at her extravagance. A quarrel ensues, and after the husband leaves for work, the brother, Harold Briar, comes to her for money in order to continue his gambling. She tells him of the quarrel and he leaves. We now see John at work in the bank. Stephen Kopf has introduced him to a widow who wishes to become a depositor. She gives John her savings ($5,000), which John leaves on his desk when he is called to another part of the bank. Harold enters, and seeing the money, puts it in his pocket and leaves. John returns, but being preoccupied, does not miss the money until late in the afternoon, when thinking over the events of the day, he remembers Harold's visit. John rushes to Harold's apartment and accuses him of stealing the money. Harold confesses and tells him he has lost it at faro. John, knowing the bank examiners are even then at work and that the loss of the money will fall on him, decides to end it all. He returns home with the intention and stops in his library to write his wife a letter of explanation. When the letter is finished he pours into a glass a dose of hydrocyanic acid and is about to drink it when he remembers that he has forgotten something of vital importance in his letter and returns to the library to add it to the note, leaving the poison in the whiskey glass on the dining room table. Stephen Kopf enters through the open French window, and seeing John writing in the adjoining room, raises a revolver and is about to fire, but his hand shakes so much through nervousness he knows he will miss. Seeing the whiskey on the table, he gulps it down and again raises the weapon, but before he can pull the trigger the poison overcomes him and he drops dead. John, hearing the noise, returns and sees the body on the floor. He is for the moment spellbound at the unexpected turn of events, and on closer inspection finds a note in the dead man's hand. He reads and discovers that Stephen had come there with the intention of killing him and making it appear that he (John) had defaulted to the extent of thirty thousand dollars so as to cover his own gambling losses on the stock exchange. Stephen has forged John's writing, but has left the note unsigned. So John hides his own letter and the revolver. His wife, who has heard the fall of the body, rushes in and is shown the note. Then John tells her all that has taken place. John calls the police, and as it is apparently a clear case of suicide, the latter leave after calling an ambulance for the removal of the body. John is promoted to the cashier's position, his wife repents of her extravagant living, gives up her jewels and servants and agrees to move into a less pretentious home. Harold, who has left the city, writes his sister that he is now serving his country in the Philippines. Subsequently John returns the five thousand dollars that caused all the unhappiness.
All Releases
Domestic
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International
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Worldwide
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GenresCrime
Drama
Short
IMDbPro
See more details at IMDbPro
| Filmmakers | Role |
|---|---|
| King Baggot | Director |
| King Baggot | Writer |
| Cast | Role |
|---|---|
| King Baggot | |
| Edna Hunter | |
| William Bailey | |
| Frank Smith |
