The Moth (1914)
The Moth, a young butterfly sort of girl, has married an elderly invalid, John Davidson, for his money. She then proceeds to enjoy her youth and opportunities to the utmost. While he stays home or goes to see one of his old cronies she romps off with her crowd of youthful admirers and girlfriends. One night John, returning from a call on his old friend Bill, is held up by thugs and in danger of being beaten to death when he is rescued by a stranger named Ebbetts. Young Wallace, who has been driving Jennie, John's wife, and a gay party on a joy ride, returning from the Davidson home sees the rescue and takes John home. Ebbetts goes on his way, not knowing whom he has saved. Jennie is genuinely sorry for John's new ailment, but shows only the solicitude of a daughter. Later she meets Ebbetts in the park and a clandestine romance commences. Ebbetts does not know but that Jennie is a single girl and she does everything to keep him in the dark about it. Finally, he will not be put off any longer and demands that she marry him. She puts him off and hurries home. He follows and confronts her in her own home. She pleads and coaxes him to go, but it is too late. John has seen and overheard. He threatens to shoot Ebbetts. They recognize each other and Ebbetts explains that he thought Jennie an unmarried girl. John will not believe him and angrily tells him to go before he forgets that he saved his life. Ebbetts goes and John retires to his room brokenhearted. There a realization of his infirmities and age overwhelm him and he thinks Jennie would be happier with him out of the way and he registers an overdose of his medicine would clear the way for her. When Jennie goes to his room, confident that she can wheedle him back into forgiving her, she finds him seated in his big armchair, head forward on his breast, dead. At first she is horrified and frightened as she discovers that he most have purposely taken an overdose, then she remembers Ebbetts and realizes that she is free now to go to her lover. She hastens to him with the news, but he spurns her love and tells her to go back to her dead. Seeing there is no alternative she goes back, and completely realizing the great wrong she has done, she goes to his room and choking back her emotion, stands there looking at him, then she breaks down, sobbing, and falls upon her knees beside his silent figure. A faint gray figure seems to lean forward from the inert form of John and the shadowy hand falls caressingly on her bowed head.
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Worldwide
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| Filmmakers | Role |
|---|---|
| Siegmund Lubin | Producer |
| Cast | Role |
|---|---|
| Rosemary Theby | |
| Harry Myers | |
| Earl Metcalfe | |
| Percy Winter |
