The Dumb Messenger (1913)
May, age 20, and Bessie, age 6, live with their grandfather, an old recluse and bookworm. May is invited to a dance by Jim, the ne'er-do-well son of Mrs. Heap, the housekeeper. May dislikes Jim and doesn't want to go, but her grandfather persuades her to accept the invitation. Bessie has made a pet of a white mouse and shows it to her grandfather who smiles absently and returns to his books up in the garret. At the dance, a bully insults May and Bob, a stranger, knocks down the bully. Jim fears the bully and is angry at this turn of events. May shows her contempt for him by accepting Bob's invitation to take her home. The two fall in love. Mrs. Heap discovers the hiding place of the old man's gold; filled with greed, she takes her son and the bully into her confidence and they plot to steal the money. May goes out with Bob the following night; during their absence, Jim and the bully overpower the old man, and when Bessie enters, they warn her to keep silent. She scrawls a note calling for help, pastes it on the back of her mouse, and shoves her pet into the mouthpiece of a speaking-tube that leads to the lower part of the house. May returns home and sees the mouse peeking out of the tube. She pulls it out and finds the call for help. She summons Bob, who is talking with a policeman, and they return to the house. Jim and the bully are about to escape when Bob and the officer capture them. Bob releases the old man and tells him of his love for May; in gratitude, the grandfather consents to their engagement.
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Worldwide
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| Filmmakers | Role |
|---|---|
| Edmund Lawrence | Director |
| Cast | Role |
|---|---|
| George Moss | |
| Ethel Phillips | |
| Adelaide Lawrence | |
| Mayme Kelso |
