The Fifth String (1913)
Angelo Diotti, a violinist, although encouraged by the eulogy of the musical profession, fails to impress Mildred Wallace, with whom he is in love, by his efforts on the violin. At a reception, given at the Wallace home, he is the cynosure of the eyes of the ladies, but Mildred characterizes the young violinist's protestations of musical effort as asininity, rather than artistry. He leaves the house in a very much dejected and despondent mood and sails for a desolate island, where he begins practicing. The more he tries the more he thinks he perceives that his ability is waning, and in a fit of melancholy he dashes his violin to the floor and crushes it with his feet. At this juncture a phantom figure appears in the doorway of his leafy shack. He hands Diotti a card hearing the inscription, "Satan, Prince of Darkness." Following closely behind his Satanic Majesty is a decrepit sort of being who holds in his palsied hands a violin. The old man plays with such exquisite harmony that Diotti is entranced, but no sooner has the bent old figure touched the fifth string of the violin when he fails dead. Satan then tells Diotti that the first string means pity, the second, hope, the third, love, the fourth, joy, but the fifth means death. Diotti, his ability restored by the magic violin, soon leaves his secluded abode and is soon in the manager's office. The execrations of the latter gentlemen are stopped by the exquisite strains of music emanating from the musician's violin. At the club a friend of the Wallace family takes advantage of Diotti's absence from the room in which he has left the magic violin, and plays upon it. His musical effusion is not of long duration, for he soon touches the fifth string and he falls dead. Diotti, although stunned by the death of the young amateur violinist, hearkens to the call of the manager and he accepts an offer to play at a grand concert. The concert is a huge success and the prestige of the violinist is restored. Mildred succumbs to the beautiful music and shows her love for him. He is invited to many functions, but the lure of the palatial home of the Wallaces and of his inamorata, Mildred, proves too strong for him, and he decides to play for them. Mildred's father, who is also a skilled musician, calls his daughter's attention to the fifth string. Although Diotti has always managed to avoid playing on the fatal string, he decides to satisfy the curiosity of Mildred by running the gamut of the strings. No sooner has he touched the fifth when he pays the penalty of his folly with his life and he drops dead at her feet.
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| Filmmakers | Role |
|---|---|
| John Philip Sousa | Writer |
| William Nicholas Selig | Producer |
| Cast | Role |
|---|---|
| Thomas Carrigan | |
| Adrienne Kroell | |
| Lafe McKee | |
| Charles Clary |
