The Hopeless Game (1914)
Herbert Murry, a broker's clerk, who has been dabbling in stocks, receives a letter from Mabel Bordon, a friend, who is returning from abroad. He plans a marriage with the wealthy girl. While on the ship, Mabel meets Jack Thorp. Love wakens quickly on the ocean and the two find themselves engaged. On the last night of the voyage, Jack becomes involved in an altercation over a game of cards and Mabel is heartbroken when the man she loves is denounced by one of the officers of the liner as being a steamship gambler. Jack honestly loves Mabel and writes her that he is going away, but will return to her when he can do so with an honest name. In the west, Jack endeavors to find work, but is finally forced to take up card playing again. Luck is with him, and with large winnings from the gambling house, he plays a final hand with the proprietor in which the latter stakes the establishment against Jack's winnings. Jack holds the higher cards and finds himself owner of the place. In the East, Mabel is courted by Murry, but remains true to her love for Jack. In a brawl in Jack's gambling hall. Grimes, a habitue of the place, is killed, and Jack is awakened to a realization of the truth when he sees the anguish of the widow, and when she accuses him of being the cause of her husband's death. He determines to quit the game, closes the hall, and gives the money it has made him to the widow. Then he takes work as stableman on a ranch. Mabel's father dies, and Murry renews his attentions to the heiress. In a western paper, he sees an account of the murder in Jack's establishment. Though he has never seen Jack he knows that Mabel loves a man by that name, and he sends Mabel a copy of the paper. When she learns of Jack's broken promise, and that he is the proprietor of the gambling hall, she yields to Murry's entreaties. They are married. Two years later Murry has dissipated Mabel's fortune. He has himself become a gambler and has appropriated money from his employers. Jack, whose intelligence has made him a partner in the ranch, finds an opportunity to go east. He calls on Mabel and finds her married. She is distracted over the discovery of Murry's dishonesty, and tells Jack of his defalcation. He has not enough money to make good Murry's thefts, but determined to play one game in an effort to win the necessary amount. He goes to a gambling house where he plays with indifferent luck. Finally Jack wins. The other leaves the game in consternation. The next morning Jack takes the money to Mabel. She is filled with gratitude. She bids him farewell, and starts for the den to find Murry. She opens the door, and starts back in horror. Jack rushes to her. Murry, a suicide, lies dead. Jack looks into his face. It is the man who lost to him in the poker game.
All Releases
Domestic
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International
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Worldwide
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GenresDrama
Short
IMDbPro
See more details at IMDbPro
| Filmmakers | Role |
|---|---|
| Harry Myers | Director |
| Siegmund Lubin | Producer |
| Cast | Role |
|---|---|
| Harry Myers | |
| Rosemary Theby | |
| Brinsley Shaw |
