The Debt (1914)
Out of work, Helen Desmond is forced to go on the stage in order to support her invalid mother and sister, Elsie. She meets a rich society man, Dan Appleby, who places a fifty-dollar note in her pocketbook at dinner one night. At home she finds it and, thinking Mr. Appleby will understand, sends it to her mother for an operation which the doctor claims will save her life. The operation is performed with success, but Appleby refuses to believe her story and is sure she is a shrewd, calculating girl in spite of her baby face and air of innocence. He takes his defeat in sportsmanlike manner, laughing at her promise to pay it back. Soon after this Helen meets Philip Gardner, who was an old friend of her deceased father. She does not know that Gardner is an old rounder, but, acting upon her mother's suggestion, places herself practically under his protection and mistakes his attentions for fatherly interest. About this time the show closes, and Helen, broke and discouraged, is an easy prey for the wily Gardner. Through her chorus girl friend, Maysle, Gardner gets Helen to join him and a party who are going south on a yachting trip. They leave and Helen is extremely happy. Appleby hasn't forgotten Helen and goes to see her. He finds her rooms vacant, but gets her mother's address. He meets the mother and Elsie and learns of how he has misjudged the girl. He does not tell the mother of the kind of man Gardner is, but decides to go south to try to get her to go back home before trouble comes. On the night of his arrival south he swims out to the yacht and watches a dinner party going on in the salon. It is the first time that Gardner has shown his true character and he tries to force wine upon Helen. She objects and goes on deck, Gardner, drunk, following. He struggles with her there, but Appleby comes upon them and knocks Gardner to the deck, telling Helen to get away in the small boat. This she does, and he follows. On shore she asks him to take her home. There, later, he calls upon her and when she asks how she can ever repay her great debt to him he simply tells her, "Be my wife." Forgiveness and a better understanding come with her answer.
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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 |
|---|---|
| Siegmund Lubin | Producer |
| Cast | Role |
|---|---|
| Earl Metcalfe | |
| Mary Keane | |
| Anna Luther | |
| Herbert Fortier |
