The Stranger
Dayton Lee and his wife, Dorothy, live a dual life. Lee, a prominent businessman, finds his chief pleasures in the bright lights of the cafés, while his trusting little wife makes a home of refined elegance for her unfaithful husband. The brutal nature of Dayton Lee is brought forth when planning his evening pleasures with his secretary, Nan Clark. He purchases a peace offering for his wife in the form of a diamond lavaliere, to keep her contented and satisfied during his supposed absence at business downtown. In a fashionable jeweler's the purchase of the lavaliere is witnessed by one Sydney Strange, one of the cleverest thieves in the city's history, a man refined, quiet and observing, whose character has never been suspected by the police. On the night of Dayton Lee's social engagement with his stenographer, Nan Clark, at a local café, Lee's home is entered by Strange, and the jewel taken from its deposit in Lee's private safe. Unnerved by her husband's brutality before his departure for town that night, Dorothy finds her way to the library and would bury herself in a good book, and so try and forget, when her intention is interrupted by her noticing the blowing of the curtains over the French window leading from the library to the garden beyond. She also discovers the door of the safe open. In the café, Lee, disgusted by the flirtatious actions of Nan Clark with another man, leaves in anger and returns home to find his wife with a strange man. Lee's brutality again takes hold of him and he would strike his wife, but the timely aid of the stranger saves her. Lee finds he has been robbed of the lavaliere purchased for his wife and, disregarding her appeal, he telephones for the police. Just before their arrival to arrest Strange, Dorothy faces her husband and tells him that if he will give the man up in spite of her, the man who saved her from her husband's brutality, she will swear the stranger was her lover. The police are told that "it was all a mistake." Strange takes from his pocket the stolen lavaliere, places it on the table before Dorothy, before whom the husband kneels and asks forgiveness.
- Released
- 1915
Details
Release year: 1915
Storyline
Dayton Lee and his wife, Dorothy, live a dual life. Lee, a prominent businessman, finds his chief pleasures in the bright lights of the cafés, while his trusting little wife makes a home of refined elegance for her unfaithful husband. The brutal nature of Dayton Lee is brought forth when planning his evening pleasures with his secretary, Nan Clark. He purchases a peace offering for his wife in the form of a diamond lavaliere, to keep her contented and satisfied during his supposed absence at business downtown. In a fashionable jeweler's the purchase of the lavaliere is witnessed by one Sydney Strange, one of the cleverest thieves in the city's history, a man refined, quiet and observing, whose character has never been suspected by the police. On the night of Dayton Lee's social engagement with his stenographer, Nan Clark, at a local café, Lee's home is entered by Strange, and the jewel taken from its deposit in Lee's private safe. Unnerved by her husband's brutality before his departure for town that night, Dorothy finds her way to the library and would bury herself in a good book, and so try and forget, when her intention is interrupted by her noticing the blowing of the curtains over the French window leading from the library to the garden beyond. She also discovers the door of the safe open. In the café, Lee, disgusted by the flirtatious actions of Nan Clark with another man, leaves in anger and returns home to find his wife with a strange man. Lee's brutality again takes hold of him and he would strike his wife, but the timely aid of the stranger saves her. Lee finds he has been robbed of the lavaliere purchased for his wife and, disregarding her appeal, he telephones for the police. Just before their arrival to arrest Strange, Dorothy faces her husband and tells him that if he will give the man up in spite of her, the man who saved her from her husband's brutality, she will swear the stranger was her lover. The police are told that "it was all a mistake." Strange takes from his pocket the stolen lavaliere, places it on the table before Dorothy, before whom the husband kneels and asks forgiveness.
Top credits
- Sydney Ayres — Sydney Strange
- Val Paul — Dayton Lee
- Doris Pawn — Dorothy Lee
- Ruby Cox — Nan Clark - Lee's Secretary