The Brute (1914)
Because he is a drunkard, Black Barton is despised by his friends and hated by his family, whom he hates in turn because they do not understand that he fights against drink until he's nearly insane. His son Ted loves but fears him and shrinks when he is nearby. The father loves his son and wants to be good to him, but he's filled with brutal rage when the boy shrinks from him. Barton goes to a saloon and drinks all day. A man Barton's wife had known in her girlhood comes to see her. She is excited and pleased to see him. The children like him and he is much taken with them. A neighbor on the way to the saloon sees the wife and her friend, and when he reaches the saloon he tells Black Barton, who starts home with the intent to kill the stranger. He comes to the house and looks in the window. He sees his wife laughing happily with the man and the children playing. He enters the house and the look of misery comes back to the wife's face and the children cower in fear. Barton realizes that without him his family has a chance for happiness. He turns abruptly and goes from the house. His son follows him and tries to call him back, unsuccessfully. Arriving at the summit of a great precipice, he stands a moment, with his face turned towards the heavens, then plunges over the cliff and bounds down the rocky side to his death, hundreds of feet below. His body is found later by a party of prospectors. They realize as they look, that "The Brute" had a redeeming trait in his nature after all.
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| Filmmakers | Role |
|---|---|
| Hardee Kirkland | Director |
| Cast | Role |
|---|---|
| William Parsons | |
| Anne Schaefer | |
| William Desmond Taylor | |
| Paul Willis |
